Philadelphia 76ers: 5 reasons Ben Simmons will have better career than Mitchell, Tatum

5. He will get a jump shot

As a rookie, Simmons showed he could do almost anything; pass, dribble, play defense and be an offensive force going to the basket.

As all 76ers fans knows, the one thing he could not do was shoot a basketball.

Officially, he went 0-for-11 from beyond the 3-point line. In reality, he never took a ‘three’, those shots being heaves at the end of periods. He was not much better at the free throw line, sinking just 56 percent of foul shots, leading some teams to employ a ‘Hack-a-Ben’ strategy.

Tatum and Mitchell are already polished shooters. One of Tatum’s big positives going into the draft was that he was much father along than most in offensive skills.

Mitchell averaged more points a game (20.5) but Tatum, of course, was not counted upon as much by his team to score as Boston had more talent. Tatum did have a much better shooting percentage from 3-point range (43.4 to 34) and both shot over 80 percent on free throws.

How much more Tatum and Mitchell can improve on their shooting is likely incremental. Simmons, on the other hand, the sky is the limit.

He has been working on his shot and in practice he would tantalize reporters by sinking 3-pointers. He did improve from the charity stripe as the season went along; his free throw percentage got up to 70 percent in the playoffs.

Will Simmons suddenly turn into a clone of J.J. Redick? Probably not. But to say a kid who just turned 22-years-old will never improve his shooting would also be wrong-headed.

Unlike Markelle Fultz, Simmons never has been an outside shooter. He was always bigger, faster and stronger than anyone he faced so no reason to settle for a jumper.

Ben Simmons with just an average NBA jump shot would make him a terrifying prospect for opposing defenses.