Aussie NBA star Ben Simmons can lead us to a medal, says Luc Longley

Three-time NBA championship winner and Australian assistant coach Luc Longley has declared Ben Simmons ready to lead the Boomers to World Cup glory despite claiming he is facing more pressure than the greatest of all time, Michael Jordan.

Australia named a 17-man squad on Thursday, with Simmons one of nine NBA players chosen.

Simmons — a No.1 draft pick, last season’s NBA rookie of the year and current All-Star — is preparing to negotiate a life-changing contract, but has committed to representing his country.

Longley said the Boomers were determined to make the most of Simmons’ talents and he was confident he could handle the pressure and expectation.

“The pressure is far greater in him,” Longley said when asked about the pressure when he played. “Generationally and with social media ... I saw Michael Jordan handle a lot of pressure and I imagine Ben’s got even more on him with social media. As long as we do a good job of looking after him and he’s got a team around him, I think he’ll be fine.”

Simmons was joined by fellow NBA players Patty Mills, Joe Ingles, Aron Baynes, Matthew Dellavedova, Andrew Bogut, Deng Adel, Jonah Bolden and Mitch Creek.

WA’s Cam Gliddon, Perth Wildcat Nick Kay, Nathan Sobey, Mitch McCarron, Chris Goulding and Todd Blanchfield are the NBL representatives, while European stars Brock Motum and Jock Landale complete the squad.

Thon Maker withdrew at the request of the Detroit Pistons, but Longley said the other players were all guaranteed to be available. The squad will be reduced to 12 players after a selection camp in August.

“We believe we can win it,” Longley said.

“We went into Rio believing that and expecting that. We fell three or four points short to the US and that was the measure of how far short we were.

“I think we’ve gotten better since then. Why can’t we? That’s our goal.

“I’ve been to a number of Olympics now and a World Cup and come fourth just about every time. The reason I’m doing this is not out of the goodness of my heart. I want a medal.”