Ben Simmons has been under the spotlight over the course of the offseason and the start of the regular season due to his situation with the Philadelphia 76ers. He has thus far not played for the franchise since last season.
There have been a lot of Philadelphia 76ers fans who have complained about Ben Simmons not playing for the team, and some have attributed it to a lack of fight. He has also folded in crucial playoff games in the past, and that was particularly evident in the 76ers series against the Hawks in the 2020-21 playoffs.
Jonathan Givony of Draft Express had a profile that was particularly accurate about Ben Simmons prior to him getting drafted. The profile talked about Simmons’ “lack of competitiveness in crucial games” as well as stating that he’s “close-minded to coaching or instruction”.
Went on the WIP Morning show in Philadelphia to talk about my 2016 scouting report on Ben Simmons (https://t.co/HXXmpSWCSJ) which, unfortunately for the 76ers, has proven to be prescient. pic.twitter.com/VAs7LgpjL7
— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) October 21, 2021
Simmons’ lack of competitiveness in crucial games has raised question about his character… Those who know him best say he needs things to revolve around him on and off the court and that he’s often been close-minded to coaching or instruction
Hopefully, Ben Simmons will be able to improve and shed any questions upon his character. While he hasn’t thus far shown to add new elements to his offensive game, he’s certainly become a much better defender than he was his rookie season.
If Ben Simmons is aggressive when driving to the hoop and worked on his free throws, he would be a much better offensive player. His lack of aggression was evident in the playoffs, and it is possible that he worked on that aspect of his game during the offseason.
We’ll see if Ben Simmons rejoins the team on the court, or whether he will continue to sit out. The last news on Simmons is that he’s not “mentally ready” to play, and perhaps that will change in the future.
