Philadelphia 76ers: Top-10 players 25 years old or younger

Before this season, it could be legitly argued that Ben Simmons was a top-five player 25 years old or younger. However, now that the Philadelphia 76ers are eliminated from the postseason yet again, it’s easy to come to the conclusion that he’s not in that sphere of talented young players.

Not only is he not a top-five player in that age bracket, but there should also be a legit debate if he should be in the top-10 bracket of that sphere of young players. That’s what this article will be evaluating in detail.

Top-10 players 25 years old or younger: Evaluating Simmons

During the regular season, Simmons averaged 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.6 steals, and 3.0 turnovers. He shot 55.7 percent from the field, 30.0 percent from the 3-point line, and 61.3 percent from the foul line.

Simmons was the runner-up for the Defensive Player of the Year, first team All-Defense, and an All-Star. He was in the NBA top-20 stats for assists per game (12th) and steals per game (seventh). While Simmons regressed statistically this season, compared to last he was still elite in most other areas of the game.

The problem was that during these playoffs, Simmons lost his mental edge, especially in the second round series against the Atlanta Hawks. He shot the worst free throw percentage in NBA postseason history at 34.2 percent.

He was useless on offense against the Hawks.  His future as a star as well as his future on the 76ers are clearly in question. In the postseason, he only averaged 11.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, 8.8 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.3 turnovers, while shooting 62.1 percent from the floor and 34.2 percent from the foul line.

With that in mind, these rankings will be ranking how well these young players are in the regular and postseason for their careers thus far.