Ben Simmons Raves About Sixers’ First Practice of 2019

CAMDEN, NJ (973espn.com) -- Media day is in the books, and it's officially time for the Philadelphia 76ers to get to work. On Tuesday afternoon, the Sixers checked into the team's practice facility for their first training camp session of the 2019 offseason.

Although a majority of the practice was closed off to the media, Sixers' star guard, Ben Simmons offered some insight on what went down on the court, and his statement was surely a promising one as Simmons teases some good news ahead of the 2019 opener.

"This is the best first practice I've ever been a part of since I've been a Sixer," Simmons mentioned on Tuesday as he checked in with the media following the first practice session. "The energy -- we got straight to it. We know what we are here to accomplish, and everybody has that mindset -- so we can stay that way."

'Much different,' is the term Simmons used to describe the Sixers from last season in comparison to the Sixers right now. Granted, the team itself was actually much different last October as they didn't even have the handful of names they eventually traded for during the season.

For those who were there though, they might agree. Sixers' head coach Brett Brown couldn't help but back up Simmons' bold statement. To make matters interesting, he doubled-down on his point guard's claim and mentioned this was the best first practice he has witnessed during his six-year tenure in Philadelphia.

As for Ben Simmons' co-star Joel Embiid, he felt he could agree with the point guard's sentiment as well. "Everybody was locked in," Embiid said. "Everybody followed what they were supposed to do and they played with a different intensity -- so it was fun."

Before, the Sixers were just viewed as a young team with potential that still had tons of growing to do. Nowadays, though, even their young guys are becoming seasoned veterans in the game.

As Embiid enters year four, and Simmons enters year three, the two young stars know precisely what needs to get done during the offseason in order to be successful in the regular season. Hearing that they constructed their best first practice ever witnessed during their short tenure is definitely a promising sign heading into the new year.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for South Jersey's 97.3 ESPN. You can follow Justin on Twitter: @JGrasso_