The Philadelphia 76ers have the heir to LeBron James‘ throne as king of the Eastern Conference in oversized point guard Ben Simmons.
The exodus of LeBron James from the Eastern Conference to the Western Conference has left a huge vacuum of power in the East. Not only will teams be fighting for a place as the top spot in the East, but there is a spot for best player in the East to be filled as well. While there are several worthy candidates, Philadelphia 76ers budding superstar Ben Simmons will seize James’ crown as “King” in the East.
Clearly, Simmons will need to show that he can hit a 3-point shot on a regular basis before claiming the crown. Simmons only attempted 11 3-point shots this past season and failed to convert any outside shots. Outside of his 3-point shot, Simmons has shown to be dominant in just about every aspect of the game.
Now their are five other suitors for James’ crown that can make a legit claim to the title as best player in the East. Simmons will have to beat out Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kyrie Irving, DeMar DeRozan and teammate Joel Embiid.
| Rk | Player | From | To | G | GS | MP | FG% | 3P% | 2P% | eFG% | FT% | TRB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | 2014 | 2018 | 393 | 328 | 32.7 | .506 | .284 | .537 | .524 | .746 | 7.5 | 3.8 | 1.2 | 1.3 | 2.4 | 3.0 | 17.2 |
| 2 | DeMar DeRozan | 2010 | 2018 | 675 | 663 | 34.1 | .448 | .289 | .467 | .463 | .827 | 4.1 | 3.1 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 19.7 |
| 3 | Joel Embiid | 2017 | 2018 | 94 | 94 | 28.7 | .478 | .327 | .518 | .512 | .774 | 9.9 | 2.8 | 0.7 | 2.0 | 3.7 | 3.4 | 22.0 |
| 4 | Kyrie Irving | 2012 | 2018 | 441 | 441 | 33.9 | .462 | .388 | .493 | .520 | .875 | 3.4 | 5.5 | 1.3 | 0.3 | 2.7 | 2.2 | 22.0 |
| 5 | Ben Simmons | 2018 | 2018 | 81 | 81 | 33.7 | .545 | .000 | .551 | .545 | .560 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 15.8 |
Provided by Basketball-Reference.com: View Original Table
Generated 7/14/2018.
There are reasons why Simmons will claim James’ title as best in the East over each one of these players.
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While Embiid may have averaged more points, rebounds and blocks than Simmons last season, Sixers fans have to remember that Simmons makes Embiid better. Simmons is the Magic Johnson to Embiid’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Embiid is great in his own right, but Simmons’ playmaking puts him on a whole other level.
DeRozan has been an elite scorer for a couple of seasons, but basketball is more than just scoring. DeRozan hasn’t been elite in any other aspect of the game throughout his career. While DeRozan is a better scorer than Simmons at this point, Simmons is a much more well rounded player than DeRozan.
There is no doubt that Irving is one of the best point guards in the league. However like DeRozan, Irving is only a better scorer than Simmons. Irving also has lingering health issues that have plagued his career. He can’t be considered the best player in the East if he can’t stay healthy.
The only true debate is between Antetokounmpo and Simmons. Both have very similar stats and are each physically imposing players in their own right. However, Simmons has arguably the better team built around him versus Antetokounmpo. That gives Simmons a better shot at winning a championship, which is an important part of being the best player in the East.
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Simmons will have to show improvement in his shooting and lead the Philadelphia 76ers to the NBA Finals to earn James’ crown as “King” of the East. The competition for the crown is stiff and it will not be easily gained by Simmons, but he has the skills and tools to become the best player in the East.