The Sixers had a surprise dinner with movie star Will Smith

The movie star imparted what a shark tale celebrity status can be for the young athletes

The Sixers are coming together as a young team looking to finally move forward, and hopefully, win just a few games this year. They held a team dinner this week at a local restaurant and it turned out the co-owner was a friend of team owner Josh Harris, and left the youngsters a bit starstruck. It was movie megastar (and former rap star) Will Smith. From Sixers.com:

That a Sixers co-owner was present for the event wasn't a surprise. That the co-owner in question turned out to be Will Smith was an entirely different matter. Smith, along with actress wife Jada Pinkett Smith, purchased a stake of his hometown franchise in 2011, when Managing Owner Josh Harris, co-Managing Owner David Blitzer, and the rest of the current ownership group assumed control of the Sixers.

Jahlil Okafor and his teammates weren't told that the Oscar-nominated and Grammy-winning entertainer from West Philadelphia would be dining with them.

"It was great, it was a lot of fun," said Okafor, who participated in Tuesday's practice, despite sustaining a minor ankle sprain a few weeks ago.

"Will Smith is my favorite celebrity, my favorite actor. It was great to hear him speak."Smith shared stories and passed along advice to a crowd consisting mostly of early to mid 20-year olds who grew up on his movies and albums. "I think the main thing he said is the company you have around you," Joel Embiid said.

"He was trying to explain the people you have around you affect the type of person you are. He was just trying to tell us to have good people around. That's the main thing I got from that."

Okafor was impressed with Smith's genuine disposition and intentions.

"We already know about his accolades, how smart he is, and obviously, he's an entertaining person. It seemed like he really wanted to be there to help us out."

Source: Training Camp Notebook: Embiid Fights Through Flu, Dining with Mr. Smith | Philadelphia 76ers.

It's great that this dinner went off without a hitch. It's also funny that Harris and Smith co-own a restaurant. You never can tell what those six degrees of separation might be. And that advice Smith gave, on the pursuit of happiness, seems sound, and important for young men. All of them are trying to declare, "I am legend" in this league, but they have to remember that it doesn't pay off to have bad boys around them. They have to be their own man, and sometimes that means having to declare their independence day, because eventually they want to leave a legacy that will survive even after earth. That doesn't mean they have to be emotionless, and walk around saying "I, Robot," but they just have to make good decisions.

It will be interesting to read what Ben Simmons thought of the experience. He supposedly gained 30 pounds over the summer, but you wonder if he gained just seven pounds at that dinner trying to spend as much time with Smith as possible. While Brandon Ingram is the hottest rookie in the wild, wild west, Simmons can do great things but he has to maintain focus. Smith probably had good things to tell Simmons about dealing with newfound celebrity. At least he's healthy. We've already seen players enter camp with injuries, like Myles Turner in Indiana who has a concussion.

You also wonder what Nerlens Noel thought. Noel could reportedly be traded at any moment, especially given his recent comments, and while there are no immediate reports of interest from any team, really any franchise could use his defensive abilities, even the Spurs or Nets or some other group of men in black. However, he's got to cool it with the trade talk. Hopefully Smith gave him some advice on handling criticism so he doesn't become an enemy of the state.

In the end, it's cool that the kids got to hang out with the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," even if his show was barely on past the point where they were born. The Sixers may not have a great season wins-wise, in that regard they're kind of a suicide squad, but they will grow together, improve, and have some fun.

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Oh, and I'm sure after the dinner was through, Smith put his John Hancock on the bill, and a free meal is always nice.