Everyone looks at the flaws in Ben Simmons’ game, specifically, the lack of a reliable jump shot. After an opening night win against the Celtics, the question should be, does Ben Simmons need a jump shot to be a superstar?
The NBA is moving more and more away from post play and relying more on spacing the floor with 3-point shooters. Players that lack a jump shot are becoming less appealing to NBA teams. Simmons, however, is widely regarded as one of the best young players in the game. The 2018 Rookie of the Year and 2019 all-star has also not made a 3-pointer during his NBA career.
In the Philadelphia 76ers season opener, Ben Simmons racked up 24 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. He did his damage while taking all of his shots from inside the arc. When Simmons did have the ball behind the 3-point line, he seemed disinterested in shooting the ball. This has been his game through his first two seasons in the league and it seems that it will continue that way as his third season gets underway.
The fans and his teammates, however, want Simmons to add a jump shot to his arsenal. A reliable jump shot would make Ben Simmons seemingly unguardable. His comparisons coming out of LSU were Magic Johnson and LeBron James. Johnson is a Hall of Famer and LeBron has an argument for the greatest player of all time, so Simmons’ success has not been a surprise.
His ceiling, however, seems to be limited without a reliable jump shot. Johnson attempted 1.2 3-pointers per game over his career and 2.7 per game over his last four seasons. This is despite playing in an era that did not emphasize the 3-point shot as much as the current era. While he was only 30.3% from three for his career, the threat of him shooting forced his defenders to guard him all over the court.
LeBron James has attempted 4.2 3-pointers per game over his career and has made them at a 34.3% clip. While not a great percentage, the threat of him shooting opens up driving lanes for LeBron. This allows him to find open teammates and finish at the rim at a high percentage.
Simmons, comparatively, has taken 17 3-pointers over 161 career NBA games. His unwillingness to shoot has come back to haunt him in the playoffs, as teams have slowed him down. His ineffectiveness in the playoffs has led to second round exits for the 76ers the last two season, something the front office and the fans will not accept again.
Simmons has worked hard over the summer attempting to refine his shooting form from deep. Multiple videos have come out of him making consecutive threes in practice and he gifted the Philadelphia fans with this deep three in a preseason game. Simmons seems to have developed a somewhat reliable jump shot, but there is a big difference in making threes in practice and making them in an NBA game.
As his career continues, Simmons could gain confidence in his outside shot. Does Ben Simmons need a reliable jump shot to become a superstar? Probably not. You could argue that Simmons is already a superstar in the NBA. Would it make his ascent to a top-five player in the NBA a whole lot easier? One Hundred percent.
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1 Comment
Good article Dan, as a Sixer fan I can relate all too well definitely a love-hate relationship with Simmons he disappeared during the playoffs last year (along with everyone else except Jimmy Butler who they decided to let walk). But you can’t makem-if-you-don’t-takem so he needs to gain some confidence and start launching!