The Philadelphia 76ers selected Ben Simmons with the first overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft.
Since then, he has gone from being one of the most promising prospects in the league who was getting LeBron James comparisons, to one of the most hated and criticized players in the entire NBA.
This is due to his lack of a jump shot paired with him not being willing to take jump shots in real games.
(https://t.co/I8I5s0cIvr considered this a jump shot so..)
Ben Simmons: 1
Rim: 2
Backboard: 1 pic.twitter.com/4ruH4AvO5o— Tony Pesta (@Tony_Pesta) November 3, 2018
Having Simmons as a point guard with no jumper puts his team at a very large disadvantage.
He shrinks the floor and defenders are able to clog the paint waiting on him to drive in as it is his only move.
This offseason, Simmons has allegedly cut off all communication with the 76ers and has demanded a trade from the team.
Ben Simmons has cut communications with 'basically everyone' on the Sixers.
He is open to joining the Warriors, per @JDumasReports pic.twitter.com/dcYlZ6u4p4
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) August 5, 2021
Whether they will be able to find a deal for him or not remains in the air, however, things are not looking good on Simmons remaining in Philly.
Relationships have soured between Simmons and the team and a reason for this could be how they do not come to defend him when he is attacked by the media despite the organization being part of the problem.
Despite the 76ers spending the better part of a decade in the lottery, they really only have two players to show from their process.
Those being Joel Embiid and Simmons.
However, there were far more misses than the two hits they had in Embiid and Simmons.
As a result of this, there is a case to be made that the 76ers are partially to blame for the lack of development from Simmons.
There is one other major case of a high top pick selected by the 76ers who did not develop with the team.
Another Top Pick
Markelle Fultz was the first overall pick of the 2017 NBA Draft.
He was riddled with injuries while with the 76ers and he quickly made his way to the Orlando Magic after only two seasons.
Fultz is another player who had an awful jumper while with the 76ers.
This perplexed many as he was a very good shooter in college.
During his time with the Washington Huskies, Fultz shot 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.
While it is true that the NBA three-point line is deeper than the collegiate one, typically if someone shoots as well as Fultz did in college they will be a sniper in the NBA.
For reference, Stephen Curry shot 41.2 percent from three in college.
During his two seasons with the 76ers, they spent a lot of time trying to make adjustments to Fultz’s jump shot and this could be one of the main contributors as to why he sunk to a career 26.5 percent shooter from deep in the NBA.
Fultz, along with Simmons, is not eager to take jump shots.
It is possible that the 76ers trying to tweak their shots led to them losing their confidence and not even wanting to shoot in games anymore.
If they do not shoot in games, no amount of practice will do any good on their improvement in these areas.
As a result of this, it is clear that the 76ers played a role in both the deterioration in the games of Simmons and Fultz.
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