Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons has notoriously battled the criticism of his ability — or lack thereof — to improve his offensive arsenal through the addition of an outside jump shot.
Since being selected as the No. 1 overall draft pick in 2016 by the Philadelphia 76ers, Simmons made his outside shooting intentions clear. In four seasons previously played with the 76ers, Simmons connected on only five 3-point field goals (all in the last two seasons) off 34 attempts in 275 games played.
However, Simmons, who is yet to make his debut with the Nets since being traded there last season, made a bold comparison when introducing one of the league’s best — Milwaukee Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo — into a discussion that touched on the jump shot topic.
“They’re going to say that regardless,” Simmons said, according to ESPN. “Even if I hit a shot, what they going to say? ‘I still can’t.’ (Expletive), I can’t make everybody happy, you know? … That’s like saying can Giannis (Antetokounmpo) shoot? Can he?”
Antetokounmpo, who currently has an NBA title (2021), Finals MVP (2021), and two NBA MVPs (2019, 2020) on his resume, doesn’t even compare to Simmons — not just generally, but especially when it comes to outside shooting, which makes Simmons’ direction of thinking extremely questionable.
As opposed to Antetokounmpo, who last season connected on 71 total 3-point attempts and a career-best 89 treys during the 2019-20 campaign, Simmons has only knocked down three shots from beyond the arc to mark his career-high.
While Antetokounmpo isn’t globally recognized for his ability to knockdown deep-range jumpers, the 27-year-old has made noteworthy strides through his offseason initiative to add that ability to his already dominant offensive game.
“Is it not taking as many shots as people want me to?” Simmons said. “Is it not hitting every shot? Fans are always going to say something. And it’s probably something that they’re like, ‘Yo, I can get in his head by doing this because I know this has always been something that people have spoken about.’ But at the same time (people say), ‘Ben can make great plays,’ so…”
Only time will tell whether or not Simmons will display a more aggressive jump-shot trigger on the floor with the Nets. Fans got an underwhelming but on-brand preview of Simmons’ outside jumper during the Nets’ annual “Practice in the Park” on Oct. 11.
