Ranking every player on the Sixers’ 2021-22 roster

Ranking every player on the Sixers roster — 2. Ben Simmons

Ben Simmons is barely on the Sixers’ roster right now. He’s sitting at his home in California, losing out on game checks and salary while the Sixers forge a difficult path forward without him. That could all change — Simmons still has roughly 33 million reasons to return at some point — but until that inevitable trade notification hits seven days from now or seven months from now, Ben Simmons is technically… a Sixer.

Drama aside, it’s hard not to imagine Simmons occupying this spot on the list. His resumé speaks for itself — three All-Star appearances, two All-Defense nods, and Defensive Player of the Year runner-up. He is arguably the best perimeter defender of his generation, combining elite size and strength with the lateral quickness to match Trae Young stride-for-stride.

On defensive prowess alone, Simmons earns this spot. He and Joel Embiid are inarguably the most dominant defensive duo in the NBA. No two players fit better together on that side of the ball. That said, this year was easily the closest Simmons has come to not ranking No. 2 on this list. Of the six writers who contributed to our rankings, two of them had Simmons at No. 3 and Harris at No. 2 — a not-so-shocking development when you consider just how bad Simmons looked under the bright lights of postseason basketball.

Simmons is a great regular season player. He is a perennial All-Star, a true defensive backbone, and a top-notch facilitator. He creates a ton of open 3s by nature, and his unselfish style is naturally endearing to teammates. That said, if Simmons continues to crumble in the postseason, teams will have no choice but to doubt if he can be the No. 2 (or even the No. 3) on a true contender.

There is a good chance our midseason installment of this list won’t include Ben Simmons. That is the state of things. While recent reports have made it clear no trade is imminent, it doesn’t take long for negotiations to pick up steam in the NBA. Simmons is a valuable commodity, even after his epic flameout, and his public desire to leave puts pressure on Philadelphia’s front office, whether we like to admit it or not.