To better understand the historical moment on Tuesday night in which Philadelphia 76ers guard Ben Simmons took and made a three-point shot, we went to the players, coach, fans, and broadcasters who were there to witness it to tell the story.
Josh Richardson, new guy: "I was wondering why the crowd was standing up and everything, and I was like, 'What's happening?' And I looked at the situation and I looked at the clock, and I was like, 'Ah, OK.' So, I kind of stood in the corner and kind of did this with my hands like, 'Shoot it if you want it, bro.'"
Tweets_by_Zo, superfan sitting in section 113 row AA: "He had the ball, then pulled it back out for the last play, typical end of quarter procedure, but then everyone just kept yelling 'SHOOT!'. Embiid was 10 feet away yelling at him, Mike Scott was urging the crowd to get him to do it, both f***ing hilarious to be honest."
Tom McGinnis, 76ers radio voice: "Was an Eagles player walking by or something? I didn't know what the crowd was reacting to."
Serena Winters, play-by-play announcer for NBC Sports Philadelphia telecast last night: "I know we're supposed to be unbiased but... ‘Please go in, please go in, please go in,' is what I remember thinking when that ball left his fingertips."
Ben Simmons, three-point shooter: "Time running down, I had the ball, so I had to take a shot."
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Brett Brown, coach: "He made a shot. Good."
Tweets_by_Zo: "Ben made the shot and I levitated."
Serena Winters: "But in all honesty, I'm pretty sure I blacked out when Ben drilled it from deep, and I was on the call! It felt like an eternity from when the time the fans were on their feet to the moment you knew it was going in. I just fed off the energy in the arena, and seeing Joel Embiid get hyped and embrace Ben like he did was the icing on the cake."
Brett Brown: "I think the whole thing is so overblown. I think in general, it's so inflated the attention, and that's what I think. … He's young, we got a long season."
Enrico Campitelli, sports blogger: "That's okay. We'll overreact for you."
Erin Dunne, social media guru for @NBCSPhilly: "I've been sitting on a premade video for about half a year now, quietly buried deep in the depths of my "Sixers Sh**post" folder. Every game, I would open the photoshop document, then sadly close the photoshop document when the clock hit zero and there was no three-pointer made by Ben Simmons. I didn't even open it for the preseason game on the night it happened. The newsroom was dead silent for a split second, before we sprang into action. My computer froze at least twice in those two minutes it took to release the social video and to be honest, I am not even sure what I wrote."
Ladies and gentlemen, we had some help with this special announcement. pic.twitter.com/Jq9UDIpMA7— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) October 9, 2019
Mike Scott, Redskins fan: "We've all seen videos of him over the summer hitting them. That's all his hard work. And a lot more to go. I'm glad he's confident, he's shooting it and it was cash. He cashed out."
Stephen A. Smith, loud talker: "I've said it many times and I'll say it again: if Ben Simmons develops a jump shot, the 76ers will win the NBA Title."
Tobias Harris, savvy vet: "He's one of the best shooters to ever shoot the basketball. Let it fly. He's 100 percent from three, so I don't want to hear nothing."
Ben Simmons, gunslinger: "I work every day, so to me, it shows. I'm in the gym every day putting in work, so I feel like it's paying off."
Brett Brown: "I'm just not gonna react over it, and I really mean that. He made a three."
Sixers fans: "When's the parade down Broad Street?"
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