Sixers: How Ben Simmons becomes Defense Player of Year 2020-21
The Philadelphia 76ers have a star defender in Ben Simmons, but what needs to happen for him to win Defensive Player of the Year?
It’s fair to say that the Philadelphia 76ers‘ point guard Ben Simmons is an elite player in the NBA. He made both All-NBA third team and All-Defensive first team last year. However, has the potential to be the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) this season.
Last season, Simmons averaged 16.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 2.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks. He finished fourth in the DPOY voting last year, but there are several things he could improve upon in order to finish first this season.
What Sixers star Simmons can do to win DPOY.
Simmons led NBA in steals per game, second in overall steals (119), and third in steal percentage (2.9 percent). He also finished with the eighth-best Defensive Plus/Minus score (plus-2.3) and the 17th best Defensive Win Shares (3.1).
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While those stats are great, they aren’t going to win him the DPOY award. He’s already the most versatile defender in the NBA. He can literally defend all five positions at a high level, but he can still grow as a defender believe it or not.
The one area he could seriously improve upon is his shot-blocking and rim protection. Considering that he’s 6-foot-10, he should have a better career of 0.8 blocks. Granted in the past, former head coach Brett Brown used Simmons to defend the opposing team’s best perimeter offensive player.
That plays a part in low shot-blocking stats, but he still needs to be more of a threat, especially with his height. Simmons will probably need to average around 1.5 blocks per game to really help him be a threat as a rim protector. If he gets to that point, then he could become DPOY this upcoming season.
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Outside of shot-blocking, there are no real areas where Simmons can improve as a defender. If he does improve in that area, he and the Philadelphia 76ers will be dangerous on defense this season.