Sources: Simmons promised No. 1 pick by 76ers

12:44 PM ET

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  Brian WindhorstESPN Senior Writer
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  • ESPN.com NBA writer since 2010
  • Covered Cleveland Cavs for seven years
  • Author of two books

The Philadelphia 76ers have informed Ben Simmons that they will select him with the No. 1 pick in Thursday's NBA draft.

The 76ers' promise was first reported by Cleveland.com and confirmed by ESPN.

The team worked Simmons out privately on Tuesday, the first and only workout Simmons has done leading up to the draft. This was after the LSU star met with the team last week in Cleveland, where Simmons had been working out.

Simmons told SportsCenter on Tuesday he was in Philadelphia to "introduce myself."

The 76ers are preparing to make the franchise's second No. 1 pick in the lottery era (since 1985). They drafted Allen Iverson first overall in 1996. The 76ers traded away the No. 1 pick in 1986.

Information from ESPN senior writer Marc Stein contributed to this report.

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Sources: Simmons promised No. 1 pick by 76ers