At this point, it’s no secret that Ben Simmons is one of the NBA’s worst shooters.
While he still brings a lot to the table offensively, his refusal to even attempt jump shots has become a serious concern, and his inability to hit free throws might have cost them a few playoff games already.
With trade rumors running rampant, and the Sixers’ future still in question, many are wondering just where things went wrong for Simmons.
Perhaps even more bizarrely, he seems to have regressed from his Rookie year. On Twitter, fans stumbled upon some footage of Ben shooting in Summer League. He looked confident and smooth — both attributes he lacks now from distance.
Summer League Ben. 🥲 pic.twitter.com/Bo7gvHxgHs
— Victor Williams (@ThePhillyPod) June 19, 2021
Needless to say, the community is just in awe and confused over Simmons’ shooting woes.
That’s why it’s so frustrating for us who’ve defended him. He can shoot. He’s not great but he can do it, if he just attempted a few shots defenders would have to at least pay attention to him. Somewhere something happened for him to just not shoot ever, maybe coaching?
— Chris Dever (@SeeSoDever) June 19, 2021
That last shot from the top of the key looked natural af
— Slicktalk215 (@Rongs215) June 19, 2021
https://twitter.com/DenScorpioFTW/status/1406358068456271872https://twitter.com/VeryWetBoi/status/1406372364858888192
— | myke | 🦅 (@PhillyTruthr) June 19, 2021
I keep telling myself that he just needs more confidence, he’s in his own head, and that he’ll figure it out, but it’s been 4 years now…
— Ben Pfingstler (@ben_pfingstler) June 19, 2021
https://twitter.com/ReallyThoRell/status/1406385797352263681
It’s all (mostly) mental. He has the talent. He is just afraid to fail.
— 𝙅𝙞𝙢𝙢𝙮 𝙈𝙤 (Belt2Ass) (@Morr6565) June 19, 2021
The worst thing that could have happened was Ben making the All Star team this year. Because that’s premium validation for a dude with the ego of Ben Simmons. He’s one of those dudes that feels validated by a popularity contest. If he didn’t make it, it might have lit a fire.
— Jamie Fretz (@JameFretz) June 19, 2021
Ben Simmons jump shots… pic.twitter.com/44ijoIo5iR
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) June 19, 2021
Obviously, Summer League is a different animal than regular-season NBA basketball. Still, the confidence he shot with back then shows, and it differs vastly from what we see today from Ben.
The question is, can he ever regain that form? Can he get his confidence back?
With some more time, training, and help, anything is possible. But until Simmons really starts to develop his jumper, his game and his team will always be limited.
