SALT LAKE CITY — From late-night NBA 2K11 video game sessions to winning a silver medal with Team Australia together at the 2012 FIBA Under-17 Championship, Dante Exum and Ben Simmons embody the definition of being Day 1 friends.
But as Dante Exum was sidelined for all but 14 games of Simmons’ first season in Philadelphia with a shoulder injury, he couldn’t help but notice a rookie beef brewing between his fellow Aussie and new Utah Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell.
Exum laughs as he recounts his strange role as an unlikely middleman in the social scene that captivated basketball fans across the country.