Being the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, it was clear that NBA teams and scouts thought highly of Ben Simmons. Although he missed the entire first year of his career, due to a foot injury, when he returned he gave high hopes to the Philadelphia 76ers fans.
Most praised his ability on the defensive end of the court along with dishing out the ball to his teammates regularly. On top of that, Simmons proved he was a scoring threat as well, with the ability to score 15-20 points on any given night.
However, there was one glaring error in his game, which unfortunately is yet to be fixed. He has never been a shooter and his 3-point shooting ability is non-existent. Despite that, Simmons is one of the most highly regarded young players in the league.
But what if he was a decent enough shooter? What will be his full potential? Well, if we are to believe Golden State Warriors legend Rick Barry, Ben could be dominant like none other than Shaquille O’Neal.
Via Substack:
“If [Simmons] was an 80-percent shooter, with his size, he would be like Shaq. You could take him and post up those little guards and he would just abuse them — and he could hope he got fouled. He would be such a dominant factor. He becomes one of the best players in the league.”
During his playing time, Shaq was never a great shooter, but he didn’t need that skill in his arsenal. First of all, O’Neal was a center and when he was active in the league, center players dominated the league by spending most of the time near the basket.
Secondly, that isn’t the case anymore, regardless of the position of a player, teams expect them to be at least an average shooter. Simmons definitely doesn’t fall into that category.
As for Rick Barry’s claims, it might not sit well with the Diesel as the Los Angeles Lakers recently criticized Ben Simmons’ shenanigans during his stint with the 76ers.
Anyway, Ben is now gearing up for his debut with the Brooklyn Nets. The only hope that fans will have from him is to play at a decent level and help the formidable duo of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant in bringing the NBA Championship to Brooklyn.
