SACRAMENTO — Ben Simmons knocked down a step-back fadeaway jumper off the dribble in preseason this week, immediately triggering the NBA’s annual and legally required overreaction cycle.
Within minutes of the shot going in, sports media personality Colin Cowherd was reportedly seen firing off his now-viral message to LeBron James:
“Hey LeBron. We’re good bro. You can go. Ben Simmons is here.”
League sources confirmed the jumper traveled roughly 14 feet through the air and approximately 11 years through the internet, reviving a level of optimism usually reserved for rookie extensions and “best shape of his life” training camp reports.
Witnesses said the reaction inside the arena was part surprise, part confusion, and part quiet awareness that one made preseason jumper from Ben Simmons can apparently still move the entire content economy.
Kings officials praised Simmons for staying aggressive and showing confidence, while also gently reminding everyone that the clip came in October and should maybe not be used to rewrite the next five years of NBA history.
That reminder was ignored almost instantly.
By the end of the night, fans had already declared Simmons “back,” “finally free,” “better than ever,” and, in at least three separate posts, “basically Magic Johnson with defense.”
Cowherd, meanwhile, stood by his message to LeBron, clarifying that he did not mean James literally had to leave, only that America may have finally found its next impossible basketball fixation.
At press time, Simmons was reportedly preparing for his next preseason appearance while the internet waited to see whether one turnaround jumper could be parlayed into a full MVP case.
