Ben Simmons doesn’t have a jump shot just yet, but that shouldn’t keep the Philadelphia 76ers from drafting him.
When the Philadelphia 76ers won the top overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft last Tuesday, what was to come seemed obvious. The Sixers would likely select LSU freshman forward Ben Simmons with the first pick in this year’s draft.
Simmons has elite rebounding skills as well as an ability to score in almost any way imaginable. As long as the way imagined is within five feet of the hoop. For a player that isn’t a center, Simmons is an odd general consensus top pick in some ways, since he can’t really do much offensively away from the rim.
The large majority of Sixers fans want the Sixers to pick Simmons despite what his inability to shoot says about his offensive game. The smaller crowd that wishes for the Sixers to draft Brandon Ingram always points to Simmons’ lack of a jumper, lack of range, and how his game will create spacing issues.
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I’m here to let you know that it doesn’t matter that Simmons doesn’t have a jumper going into the Draft. Not one bit.
For those of you beating the drum of Simmons needing a jumper, I hear you. For those of you saying that drafting Simmons could potentially cause spacing issues, I also hear you. And I’ve even agreed and argued the same points.
For one, Simmons is absolutely aware of his critics, and absolutely aware of the problems he has going into the draft. It would be naive to think he hasn’t heard from any trainer, coach, or article that he has read about himself that he “needs to develop a jump shot.” So, for one, he’s working on it, and he’s still young. He’s got time to develop that shot, and I believe he will. With the athleticism he has, it shouldn’t be too difficult.
Additionally, once he gets into the league, and especially with the high-class developmental staff that the Sixers have, he will have world-class professionals fine-tuning his jumper. That will help immensely.
Secondly, the spacing issue. There is certainly a possibility that bringing Simmons onto this team will cause spacing issues, but I believe it’s being overstated. The Sixers have several big men — Jahlil Okafor, Nerlens Noel, Joel Embiid, and Richaun Holmes — who do their best work close to the hoop. Simmons also does his best work at the rim.
There is something that people have been ignoring in the equation though, and that’s the prelude to the shots that occur at the rim. Looking at most of the Sixers big men, they start their offensive move with the ball no closer than the elbow of the key. And in several cases, it’s much closer than that.
If Simmons was the same type of player — a player who starts his game within the paramaters of the key — it would definitely cause spacing issues. That’s not the case. Simmons is often getting the ball and starting his move beyond the 3-point line, or even bringing it up the floor like a point guard. He is so skilled as a ball handler that he can maneuver his way around defenders and make a way to the hoop.
Because of how he operates, he won’t cause as many spacing issues as we think. Sure, his offensive scores end up at the hoop, but that’s just the finale. The large majority of his offensive maneuvers take place beyond 10 feet, which is encouraghing.
His ball handling, speed, and athleticism allows him to move all over the floor.
Simmons is working on his jump shot. It will come with time and work in the gym. And since he’s so skilled in just about every other aspect of the game on any part of the floor, he’s still worth the top overall pick. Don’t worry about Simmons and his jump shot. He — and the Sixers — will be just fine.