Every offseason seems to be the same story - Clips surface of Ben Simmons shooting 3's like its nothing. Hype videos of a smooth stroke flood our twitter timelines and then the season rolls around and this newfound jumper is all but forgotten.
Ben Simmons is a very good basketball player. He stands roughly 6'10, can handle the ball, runs the fast-break tremendously, is a talented passer, and will be a perennial Defensive Player of the Year Candidate. Ben's drawn comparisons of guys like Magic Johnson and LeBron James since he was a junior in high-school. It is tough to deny how high the ceiling of Ben's game is. But it is becoming fair to question if he will ever legitimately reach this.
Ben Simmons: The Early years
Simmons is the son of a former Australian professional basketball player and spent his childhood in Australia. He came to the US for his sophomore year of high school at the age of 15. Simmons chose to go to Montverde Academy in Florida, which has produced a long list of high-level college and NBA players. It was at this point where Ben began drawing national attention and expectations were thrust upon him. He climbed up recruiting rankings and became the consensus #1 prospect in the country. In his final year of high school, Ben averaged 27.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 2.5 steals.
Scouting reports across the country marveled at Ben's potential. In the official ESPN rankings, Simmons was given 97/100 scout grade. Ben also played alongside Nets' star D'Angelo Russell which made for some pretty impressive highlights. You have to feel for your everyday high-schoolers would finish up Algebra 2 and then have to attempt to guard that duo.
On the negative side of his game, the report also read quite familiar 0 referencing an inability to shoot from range and adding some dribble moves to his game in the post. It also was discussed how Ben needs to improve on his rebounding as well as cutting down on turnovers and being more engaged on defense.
In his senior year at Montverde, Simmons attempted 51 threes and hit them at a non-embarrassing 29.4%. Ultimately Simmons decided to go to college at LSU where his Godfather was an assistant coach.
Ben Simmons: LSU
Simmons was very open that he would be a one-and-done at LSU. He stuck to this plan and scraped by his first semester with a 1.8 GPA. After the season was over, so was Ben's tolerance for class and he was withdrawn from the school soon after. On the court, Simmons played well but the team finished at 19-14 and missed out on the NCAA tournament, which was regarded as a major disappointment. Simmons averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.0 steals throughout the season.
Despite the unsuccessful team outcome, Simmons flashed all the tools to his game and gave no reason for NBA teams to change their opinion of him being the best player in the draft.
The present day
Ben Simmons has now been with the Sixers for 4 years. He spent his first-year sitting out with a foot injury but returned to win Rookie of the Year and 2 All-Star appearances in the following years. He is without a doubt a top-20 NBA player and has an exciting future ahead of him.
However, it is extremely frustrating the lack of growth that Simmons has shown offensively. It has now been over 5 years since that high school scouting report was written, yet it reads as if it could have been about this season. Simmons has attempted a total of 24 three-pointers throughout his NBA career. While it would be unfair to expect to expect Simmons to ever become a dead-eye from deep, it is unacceptable in today's NBA for a player of Ben's caliber to not at least hold the threat of shooting a 3-pointer.
In his rookie year, Simmons scored 80.4% of his points in the paint. He also scored 14.9% of his points from the free-throw line which leaves just 4.7% of his points to be scored elsewhere. This season, Simmons produced 78.8% of his points in the paint. He also accounted for 19.7% of his points coming from the charity stripe. This means just 1.5% of his points were scored elsewhere on the court.
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Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
While these numbers are discouraging, it is unfair to say that Simmons has shown no growth since he has come to the NBA. First off, Ben has drastically improved as a defender. What was once one of his biggest criticisms has turned into the most consistent part of his game. He also has developed greatly as a passer and his feel for running an NBA offense has drastically improved. Yet with guys like Giannis Antetokounmpo and Pascal Siakam showing such growth in their all-around game in a similar time-frame, it is frustrating to not see Simmons having the same level of growth.
What happens next?
The blame has often been placed on Brett Brown for not forcing him to shoot. Brown went to the media talking about how he wanted Simmons to shoot "a three-point shot a game" at the beginning of the season. He also reportedly threatened to bench Simmons if he did not begin shooting jumpers (which he did not). Brett Brown has taken a lot of bullets for a lot of people in the Sixers organization and Simmons makes this list as well. At another point this year, Brown cut off a question asked to Simmons about his lack of 3's or jump-shot attempts, to take ownership of it himself claiming it was his fault for it not being in the offense. While Brown evidently needed to be firmer with him, it also shows how difficult it is to force Ben to shoot.
Simmons already does so much on the basketball court that would be lost if he was not on the 76ers. This was clearly evident in the Celtics series as the team had no answer to guard Jayson Tatum and the overall pace was noticeably slower. Despite the disappointing season, it is not the time to break up Embiid and Simmons. Replacing the supporting cast around them (as well as hiring a coach) should be the entire focus of Elton Brand at the moment. However if the Sixers are to ever rise to the championship-caliber team that they hope to, Simmons must start shooting the ball.
Having the threat of an outside shot will open up Ben's entire game. 2 years ago Ben was held to one-point in a playoff game against the Celtics largely due to a game plan which blocked off the paint. It should be absolutely insulting as an NBA player if your opponent refuses to step out of the paint when you have the ball on the perimeter. If Simmons begins to shoot the ball on a regular basis it will draw the defender out and open up the paint for both himself and Joel Embiid. This also would go a large way in changing the narrative that Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons cannot play together.
Ultimately it will all come down to Ben. No one can force him to shoot the ball except for Ben Simmons himself. The city and the team have shown full faith in him since he was given a Sixers uniform, as indicated by the 5-year $170 million extension that was given last year. This summer Ben needs to get healthy and then in the gym and shoot the ball. No matter how tempting it will be to go hang out with Kendall Jenner or compete with the recent E-sports team he became a part of, there are no longer any excuses for this glaring hole in his game. The Superstar comparisons to guys like Giannis and LeBron are noticeable on the court at times, yet where the difference seems to be is in the dedication to improving. Simmons has gone as far as his talent can carry him so far, now it is up to him to add layers to his game so he can enter that MVP conversation himself.
Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire
