Before the Philadelphia 76ers drafted Ben Simmons with the top pick in the 2016 NBA draft, many people wanted the Sixers to select Brandon Ingram. Through four games Simmons has already proved to be a better player than Ingram.
"“The question that anyone that uses college success to decide who is better between Ingram and Simmons should ask — If Ingram went to LSU and Simmons went to Duke, would LSU make the Tournament and would Duke miss the cut?In order to answers yes to this question, you would have to believe Simmons’ bad shooting and attitude would’ve singlehandedly derailed Duke’s season to the point that they fail to qualify for the tournament and that Ingram’s superior shooting, but worse rebounding, passing, ball handling, and scoring, would have been enough to over come bad coaching and teammates. I don’t believe Ingram would’ve had more success at LSU and that Simmons would have made Duke a worse team, so I don’t believe college team success matters.”"
The above quote is from an article I wrote explaining why the Philadelphia 76ers should take Ben Simmons instead of Brandon Ingram. At the time there was a lot of debates among Sixers’ fans on which player would be a better fit with the Sixers.
Since the Sixers were going to be built around a center in Jahlil Okafor, it’s hard to believe it was slightly over a year ago that many people thought you could build a team around him, or the constantly injured center that looked impressive practicing in YouTube videos Joel Embiid. Many people thought Ingram was a better fit., and it was understandable that people would think that.
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Ingram was a 41 percent 3-point shooter that was on a team that qualified for the NCAA tournament and Simmons only attempted three 3-point shots during the 33 games he played and was the best player on a losing team. A 3-point shooters like Ingram would be a more natural fit with Okafor or Embiid, because he would force the defense to defend him further away from the basket.
While Simmons’ lack of a jump shot will make it easier for defenses to double to the Sixers’ star center, comparing Simmons’ first four games to Ingram’s first four during his rookie season and first four games this season shows that Simmons is clearly the superior player.
Ingram averaged 9.4 points, 2.1 assists, 4 rebounds, and 1.5 turnovers per game while playing 28.8 minutes per game during his rookie season. Ingram’s first four games that season were against teams that made the playoffs that season in the Houston Rockets (55-27), Utah Jazz (51-31), Oklahoma City Thunder (47-35), and Indiana Pacers (42-40).
Ingram averaged 5.5 points, 0.8 assists and 2.8 rebounds per game through his first four games. Simmons is averaged 17.0 points, 7.0 assists, 10.8 rebounds, one steal, and three turnovers while playing 34.8 minutes through his first four.
Three of out four the four teams Simmons played were in the playoffs last season in the Washington Wizards (49-33), Boston Celtics (53-29), Toronto Raptors (51-31), and Detroit Pistons (37-45).
You could argue that comparing Simmons’ first four games to Ingram’s is unfair. Not because Simmons at 21 years old is older than Ingram who was 19 during the entire 2016-17 season. Due to Simmons being a redshirt rookie who had the advantage of having a year under an NBA coaching staff to better prepare him for the NBA than a true rookie. Which is why it’s useful tp see Ingram’s stats through the first four game of the 2017-18 season.
Ingram is averaging 15.8 points, 3 assists, 4.8 rebounds, and 2 turnovers while playing 32.8 minutes per game. Half of his first four games this season were against playoff teams in the Los Angeles Clippers (51-31), Phoenix Suns (24-58), New Orleans Pelicans (34-48), and Washington Wizards.
Similar to when both players were in college, Simmons is better than Ingram in every statistical category with the exception of 3-point shooting and free throw percentage. While Simmons only took two 3-pointers over four game and missed both of them, Ingram is only making 33 percent of his 3-pointers this season and made 29 percent of them last season. And while Ingram is making 78 percent of his free throws to Simmons’ 61 percent over four games, Simmons goes to the free throw line 49 percent of the time he attempts a shot to the 31 percent time Ingram does.
Next: Justin Anderson is the Sixers' soul
I do not believe Ingram is a bust and that the Lakers made a big mistake drafting him. But Sixers’ fans should be happy knowning Bryan Colangelo made the correct decision taking Simmons over Ingram.