Process This: Ben Simmons’ Three-Point Journey
The “process” behind making an NBA superstar embrace his biggest weakness
Update: Ben Simmons is out indefinitely after a knee injury. Read more about the Sixers’ history of injury here
THE PEAK OF Ben Simmons’ three-point shooting this season came as quickly as the return to disappointment.
The excitement started in the preseason when Simmons shot a deep pull-up three in an exhibition game to end a dazzling first-half performance. The shot was as notable for being a first-time occurrence as it was for its irregularity: what other player has chosen a pull-up buzzer-beating shot to try and develop a new jump-shot?
After a disappointing month of October, Simmons reinvigorated hope by making a corner three-pointer against the Knicks — which was notable for its similarity to the three-pointers that Simmons practices at shoot-around, a fact that infuriated passionate Philly fans for years.
Then, while scoring a career-high 34 points, Simmons connected on another catch-and-shoot three from the corner, leading to arguably the most shocking demand from a coach in recent memory.
“This is what I want,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said in his post-game news conference, adding “you can pass it along to his agent, his family, and friends.” He claimed, “I want a 3-point shot a game, minimum,” adding that with “pull-up 2s … I’m fine with whatever is open. But I’m interested in the 3-point shot.”
But over the following weeks and subsequent two months, Simmons didn’t show progress with his shot. Shockingly, he shot only one three-pointer total after being told to shoot one per game. A back injury following the All-Star break all but promised that Simmons’ shooting would take another offseason, perhaps even another year to develop.
Everything changed when the league shut down. Players had a chance to rehabilitate, recuperate, and rest from a marathon-like regular-season. Ben Simmons, the most optimistic of Philly fans hoped, had plenty of time to fix a broken jump-shot.
And sure enough, in Philadelphia’s first scrimmage, he shot two three-pointers, making one and generally seeming far more comfortable spotting-up in the corners on offense.
So the hope is renewed, the optimism is back. But will Simmons leave these NBA Playoffs having written a new chapter in the story of his development?
HOW DO YOU make the league’s most reluctant three-point shooter embrace the shot that he avoided like the plague?
That’s the question that has plagued the Philadelphia 76ers ever since trying to pair the league’s best post scorer with league’s worst shooter.
Brown was criticized heavily for trying to compartmentalize the issue, rather than solve it. In back-to-back postseasons, it wasn’t rare to see #25 for the Sixers stand in the “dunker’s spot,” just one dribble away from the basket — but also about ten feet away from where Embiid tried to post-up, and where Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris tried to drive.
In the entirety of the 2018–2019 season, Simmons only took 6 three-pointers, with his first true attempt (attempts not of the non-buzzer beating variety) coming 56 games into the season. It took LeBron James, his childhood mentor, backing off about fifteen away for him to finally uncork his first attempt. His next attempt came five games later, against the New Orleans Pelicans.
But that was it, that was a season’s worth of three-point shots for the All-Star guard.
Compounding these issues were a few factors that made a bad situation prove to be untenable at times.
First, the insistence that Simmons, a 6'10", 235-pound athletic freak, should exclusively play point-guard caused the Sixers to play oversized, outdated lineups (look no further than their curious decision to sign Al Horford). Second, and perhaps even more incriminatingly, Philadelphia has drastically changed their game-plan in two consecutive playoffs.
In 2018, it was the decision to start T.J. McConnell next to Simmons, finally pushing the star guard to his natural position, and in 2019, it was making Jimmy Butler a de-facto point guard and #2 option on offense while Simmons became an old-school forward against the Toronto Raptors — a series which Philly was so, so close to winning.
Butler left in the summer of 2019, citing a lack of direction and leadership within the franchise, which was reflected by Philly’s lack of clarity with what to do with their All-Star point guard on offense.
Meanwhile, Embiid hasn’t been shy about his desire for Philly to space the floor around him so he can score inside, and numerous other teammates have egged on their point-guard to try shooting threes, no matter how uncomfortable it might have been at the time.
For his part, Simmons, who for years has internalized criticism over all of his accomplishments, be it his controversial Rookie of the Year victory, his right-handed preference at the basket, or his lack of shooting, agreed to work with a sports psychologist.
A casual reader would view this fact as “soft” or laughable. But those close to Simmons, including his family, have lamented about how a quiet, reserved Australian native who moved to a foreign country by himself at 16 years old has taken the criticism expected of a ten-year NBA veteran.
As it turns out, the pressure to shoot threes has extended past Philadelphia fans, casual viewers, and even Sixers players.
IT’S NOT HARD to find perfectionists in the sport of basketball. Some notable names include Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Ray Allen, and … Ben Simmons?
Simmons isn’t a perfectionist from a traditional perspective, especially as it relates to basketball. He is a below-average free-throw shooter, a non-traditional finisher, and an absolute non-shooter. He even gained a reputation for being lazy during the offseason after his progression stagnated between his 1st and 2nd seasons and his viral workouts consisted of mostly pick-up games.
Look deeper, however, and it becomes apparent that one of the factors holding back Simmons from shooting threes is the simple fact that he wants to become elite at shooting before he makes it a part of his game. This longing to be elite isn’t quite classic perfectionism, but it is very similar in its effects.
One issue that plagues the newly-turned 24-year old: accountability.
See, Simmons is like past greats with the perfection of his best skills — his awkward sky-hook, for example, has been practiced for countless hours, which explains why he loves going to it so often. But he is also like Shaquille O’Neal or Rudy Gobert in his willingness to rest on his laurels of a decorated resumé and nearly unparalleled physical gifts.
The hope would be that, after two disappointing playoff exits and national criticism, Simmons would have come to terms with his weaknesses and eliminate them, much the same way his mentor LeBron James did after an embarrassing 2011 Finals.
And if Simmons couldn’t hold himself accountable, the Sixers were ready to step in.
Kevin Boyle, the coach at Monteverde Academy and Simmons’ favorite coach ever, both expressed that his former high-school prodigy should have no fears of failure, yet should be punished for not trying to step out of his comfort zone.
Boyle gave insights into his advice for Simmons, reportedly saying, “I keep telling [Ben], ‘You have nothing to be embarrassed about. You’re one of the best players in the world. You’re dating a supermodel. So if you struggle and start 1-for-20, so what?’’
Yet, “If I were in charge of the Sixers,” Boyle said, “I’d tell [Ben ], ‘If you don’t take a pull-up jumper and a perimeter shot in each half — I don’t care about your percentages — you’re sitting.’”
Brown, who has known Simmons for years due to his ties with the Australian national team, threatened to bench his point-guard if he didn’t shoot, trying to promote greater accountability. Ultimately, he decided against the tactic, a decision perhaps motivated in part by his team’s growing reliance on Simmons to carry the load on offense and defense and the Sixers disappointing performance all year long.
Even Simmons admits that accountability is a point of emphasis. “My weakness,” he said to ESPN, “is I need to have someone make me accountable. The goal is to be accountable [for] myself. That’s been a bit tough. It takes time.”
But time is no longer on Philadelphia’s side. Embiid just turned 26, leaving him with four years of peak-athleticism, Al Horford is 34 and declining, and Tobias Harris’ linear improvement figures to plateau as he transitions to his thirties.
“I want a 3-point shot a game, minimum. The pull-up twos … I’m fine with whatever is open. But I’m interested in the 3-point shot”
- Sixers HC Brett Brown
In Simmons’ own words, he admitted to being unwilling to shoot threes until he was adept at making them. According to ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, he claimed that “with 3s, it’s never been like that. I’ve got to make it a point of emphasis. I could be one of those guys shooting 30% right now. But I’d rather be one of those guys shooting 40%.”
ALL OF THIS brings us to today, where Philadelphia can make good on an otherwise horrific 2020 campaign, and Simmons can silence his doubters for good.
Some key events have transpired over the past few months, which may or may not affect Simmons’ shooting and Philly’s title hopes:
- Shake Milton, a shifty, athletic guard replaced Al Horford in the starting lineup for the Sixers first scrimmage, and Simmons played a “point-forward” role as opposed to being a classic point-guard
- Philly is running a four-out, one-in system with Joel Embiid or Al Horford typically being the lone big on the floor at any given time.
- The two threes attempted by Simmons thus far were catch-and-shoot corner threes, which provides more spacing to the Sixers offense.
- Footage of Chris Johnson working with Simmons showed him working with the All-Star on his hand placement on the ball — many critics cited Simmons’ poor thumb placement as a reason why his shooting, on free-throws and threes, would never become even league-average.
So what will happen in Orlando? Will Simmons’ corner three-point shooting unlock the Sixers’ offense? Will the pressure of trying to win a title for arguably the most passionate (and sometimes brutal) fan-base faze him? Most importantly, in the fourth quarter of a playoff game, will Simmons shoot an open three-pointer?
The answer likely lies in-between the extremes.
These 2020 Playoffs may be the most relaxed atmosphere ever experienced by any NBA player, which could easily be the difference in a player thriving or struggling in key moments. And for Simmons, this new atmosphere may be the perfect environment for him to expand his shooting while still trying to win playoff games.
But to expect Simmons to suddenly become a 40% shooter, as he hoped to become, seems equally unlikely. There is no precedent for a player suddenly becoming an elite shooter — Brook Lopez comes to mind, but even he took two years of development before he became a high-volume shooter.
The closest comparison of the impact Simmons’ development may have on the playoffs is, ironically, his conference rival in the reigning MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Multiple executives around the league expressed their sentiment that Simmons’ shooting would be treated as a complete liability until proven otherwise. “Just like with Giannis [Antetokounmpo],” a Western Conference coach told ESPN, “it’s great he’s working on his 3-point range, but we’re still giving him that shot every single time — and hoping he takes it.”
So the shot will be there for Simmons come playoff time — but the question remains whether he will shoot it.
Sources:
- Stats via Basketball Reference
- “Ben Simmons hears the talk, but his process is not a public experiment” — ESPN
- Kevin Boyle — Monteverde Academy
- “76ers coach Brett Brown wants Ben Simmons taking one 3 a game” — ESPN
