The Philadelphia 76ers faced a familiar player on Monday night. As they made their preseason debut at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn against the Nets, the Sixers got a first look at their former draft pick Ben Simmons with his new team.
Although Simmons was traded to the Nets last year in a blockbuster deal that landed the 76ers James Harden, the three-time All-Star couldn’t get back out on the floor for his debut right away.
While Simmons attempted to ramp up his conditioning so he could make his Nets debut before the playoffs, a back injury set him back. Eventually, Brooklyn’s season ended without Simmons taking the floor.
Finally, the former Defensive Player of the Year runner-up took the court for the first time since the 2021 NBA Playoffs. In his first Nets performance, Simmons checked in for just under 20 minutes.
He dished out five assists and collected four rebounds. After putting up six shots from the field, Simmons scored six points. His offensive performance left Nets fans optimistic due to a few key passes he made.
But Sixers fans were left joking about Simmons’ jump shot, which resulted in a bad miss.
Simmons’ jump shot was always a burning topic when he entered the NBA. As the power forward turned point guard avoided shooting the ball from beyond close range, Simmons garnered a lot of criticism early on.
Throughout the years, Simmons vowed to be a better shooter from all over the floor — but the improvement never came on the game court in Philly.
Many believed a change of scenery could help Simmons, and perhaps he would come back from a one-year absence with an improved shot on the offensive end. When Simmons bricked his toughest shot of the night, millions of viewers tuned in to see.
One preseason performance doesn’t indicate Simmons’ shot is still missing, but based on what he put on display Monday night, the three-time All-Star didn’t leave NBA fans thinking he’ll expand his shooting range with the Brooklyn Nets.
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