My Messy Journey Digging Into Lionel Simmons
Honestly, started cause I was just clicking around YouTube one bored Tuesday night. Watched some old NBA highlights, you know? Then boom, saw this dude Lionel Simmons – “L-Train” they called him – doing work. Never heard of him much before. Made me scratch my head, what happened to that guy?
Got curious like you do sometimes. Figured, hey, this La Salle thing… small school? How’d he dominate like that? Tried looking stuff up on my phone first. Basic searches. Sports reference sites, yeah? Found his college numbers – man, they jumped off the screen! Like, 25 points, 10 rebounds… almost every single night for years. That ain’t normal, right? How’d nobody talk about that more?
Okay, so next step: tried finding actual old game footage. That was tough. YouTube, the streaming sites… dug deep. Found grainy clips. Watched him play. Dude wasn’t flashy like MJ, not super fast. But smooth. Big, strong, knew where to be. Put the ball in the basket any damn way. Post moves, jumpers. Just a bucket getter. Realized why he had that nickname “L-Train” – kinda rolled over people, steady.
Then, hit the NBA part. Drafted 7th overall? Kings? Expected more big things. Kept digging into stats, old articles. Saw it unfold: his body just… betrayed him. Bad tendonitis? Like, crazy bad. Read stories about him needing help just getting dressed! Felt a little sick thinking about it. Went from unstoppable college force to fighting his own knees every night in the pros. Stats plummeted after a couple years. Career basically stopped dead by 27? Threw me off. Like hitting a brick wall.
Tried understanding why. Why him? Why so bad? Fell down a rabbit hole reading medical stuff – way above my head mostly – about chronic tendonitis, wear and tear. Made me think about how demanding college ball was back then, the insane minutes he played. Four years, heavy load, took its toll? NBA just finished the job?
Wanted to see where he ended up. Searched again. Found he stayed involved after playing. Coached back at La Salle for a while? School pride, stayed connected to the place that made him legendary. Still involved locally in Philly with kids’ basketball stuff? That felt good to see. Didn’t disappear.
Whole thing made me sit back. Here was this college god, one of the best ever at that level, flat out forgotten by most NBA fans. His story is kinda rough – all that potential slammed shut by pain. Messed with my head thinking about how fragile careers are. Made me appreciate his insane college run even more though. Did it the hard way, small school, pure grind. Then… poof. Kinda brutal.
