The 76ers Should Draft Brandon Ingram Over Ben Simmons

The Philadelphia 76ers may be better off drafting Brandon Ingram instead of top prospect Ben Simmons.

As it stands now the Philadelphia 76ers have the worst record in the NBA and if the season were to end today, the 76ers would have the highest percentage at the number one draft pick. There are two college prospects that stand above the rest and are ranked first and second by multiple accredited draft outlets. Those prospects are Ben Simmons of Louisiana State University (LSU) and Brandon Ingram of Duke University.

If the 76ers get the number one pick, it will most likely come down to picking between these two players and if I were 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie I would select Ingram with no hesitation. Here’s why.

Fit:

Hinkie has selected a center as his first pick in the last three NBA drafts which is why he has been known for drafting for talent instead of fit. When it comes to Ingram and Simmons, Ingram wouldn’t be just a pick for “fit” because in my opinion he is just as talented if not more talented than Simmons. Ingram actually being a perfect fit for this team is just a bonus.

This team already had its fair share of players who couldn’t shoot or space the floor in the past and the team currently doesn’t have many great shooters. Even if Hinkie believed Simmons will be the better player, I don’t think the disparity would be large enough in Hinkie’s mind to choose a guy (Simmons) who creates even more of a logjam and isn’t a good fit.

Adding a guy like Simmons who has no jump shot whatsoever would be a huge mistake. Also the team already has a guy coming over next season in Dario Saric who is a point-forward just like Simmons and Saric can actually shoot unlike Simmons. Ingram is shooting 37.5% from three point land on almost five attempts per game and he’ll become an even better shooter as time goes by.

Ingram would be able to be effective at shooting guard, small forward, or power forward with his main position being small forward while Simmons doesn’t really have a defined position. His play style can correspond with any player in the league including the triumvirate of 76ers big men. Ingram could potentially be a superstar small forward who could also be a small ball power forward and stretch power forward in the mold of Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony.

Stats:

When people talk about Simmons and how great he is they usually mention his monster statistics and rightfully so. But not many people interpret the stats right. I think some are making the same mistake in interpretation as they did with ex-76er Michael Carter-Williams. While Simmons is much more talented than MCW was and will be younger than MCW was when he starts his rookie season, he is benefiting from empty and inflated stats just like MCW did in his rookie season with the 76ers.

For instance Simmons has a 35.2 Player Efficiency Rating compared to Ingram’s 25.8. On the surface it would seem by looking at that stat that Simmons was a much better player than Ingram. But how much does that stat really mean when he has faced much worse competition than Ingram?

Sports-reference.com has a statistic called strength of schedule (SOS) that determines how good the competition a player has faced was. Ingram has had an SOS of 3.75 while Simmons had an SOS of only 0.97. In other words, Ingram has faced competition that is almost four times better than the competition Simmons has faced so far! Ingram has led Duke to a 14-2 record against competition almost four times tougher than LSU has faced while Simmons has led LSU to only a 9-6 record. Leading a team to a much better record while facing much better competition is no small feat.

Age & Size/Athleticism:

Not only does Ingram fit the team much better than Simmons and put up stats that are much more meaningful, he also is younger and nowhere near his physical peak. If you were to choose the top three things scouts look at when scouting players, age and athleticism would most likely be in their top three.

Simmons was born on July 20, 1996 while Ingram was born on September 2, 1997. This means Ingram is almost a full 14 months younger than Simmons. Also while there is no concrete evidence for athleticism comparisons since the NBA combine has not happened yet, I think it is safe to say Ingram is more athletic than Simmons.

While Simmons is no slouch athletically and definitely stronger than Ingram, I think it’s safe to say Ingram has a lot more hops and is a tad faster. Also Ingram can build more muscle while Simmons will not get much faster or improve his vertical that much. Also at 240 pounds according to draftexpress.com, it is safe to say Simmons is close to his physical peak while Ingram is nowhere near it weighing in at only 196 pounds soaking wet. Ingram also has a wingspan almost three inches longer than Simmons and a standing reach that is an inch taller. Considering his age, Ingram is also more likely to get taller. Ingram has the tools and play style to be a deadlier NBA scorer than Simmons while also being a better defender. Hinkie said he values two way players a lot and elite two way prospects don’t come much better than Ingram. When it’s all said and done I think Simmons will only be a better rebounder and passer than Ingram while Ingram will probably be better at everything else.

Conclusion:

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While Simmons is an amazing prospect in his own right, Ingram just makes so much more sense to draft for the 76ers in my opinion. Ingram is over a year younger, arguably more athletic, is a better fit due to his jump shot, has a solidified position, his stats are great while holding much more weight, and has proven to be more of a “winner” so far in his collegiate career while Simmons hasn’t exactly done that. These reasons are why I think the 76ers should draft Ingram instead of Simmons if given the chance. Now let’s hope Hinkie thinks the same.