NBA Rumors: Ben Simmons Reveals Main Priority In 2019 Offseason
Since being drafted as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, Philadelphia 76ers point forward Ben Simmons has shown lots of superstar potential and drawn comparisons to Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. In just two years of playing in the NBA, Simmons has already made several achievements, including winning the Rookie of the Year Award, earning his first NBA All-Star selection, and helping the Sixers return to the Eastern Conference playoffs. However, despite his incredible performance on both ends of the floor, Simmons still has flaws in his game, especially his ability to shoot the ball from beyond the arc.
According to ESPN, in his first two seasons in the NBA, Simmons only made 17 three-point attempts and didn’t hit any of them. Simmons undeniably has a good inside game but to make himself fit in the modern NBA, he must add three-point shooting to his sets of skills. After the Sixers got eliminated by the Toronto Raptors in the Eastern Conference semifinals, Simmons revealed in an exit interview his main priority in the 2019 NBA offseason.
Ben Simmons said that he now considers taking more jump shots “very important,” adding that he plans to work on improving his perimeter shooting this summer.
“I think for me, I just want to get better all around,” Simmons said, according to NBC Sports. “Become a better and more efficient player. Just keep growing into a better player. There’s no one individual spot. I’m going to work on everything and continue to let my game grow. I think the one thing I definitely got a lot better at this season was my leadership. I think being a younger guy, being on a team like this, just speaking up and just trying to motivate guys, help guys get better and try to win games.”
BREAKING: @BenSimmons25 announces he will play for the Australian Boomers ?? this off-season!
?? https://t.co/0R0pWJvqyK pic.twitter.com/qs7xunlmls
— NBA Australia (@NBA_AU) May 15, 2019
Continuously improving his overall game is very important for Simmons, especially knowing that he is one of the NBA players who is expected to lead the Sixers to their first NBA championship title since 1983. However, Simmons is aware that he won’t be an efficient floor-spacer in a short period of time. In his exit interview, Simmons mentioned “repetition” as one of the keys to improving his jump shots.
While Ben Simmons is planning to focus on improving his floor-spacing and other areas of his game, the Sixers will likely prioritize bringing their own incoming free agents like Jimmy Butler and Tobias Harris back next summer. Despite the outcome of the 2018-19 NBA season, the Sixers strongly believe that keeping their core intact will keep them closer to ending their title drought.
