Ben Simmons has his father to blame for everything

Ben Simmons’ reported decision to pull out of the Tokyo Olympics has shocked Australia, but on the other side of the world the conversation is even more severe.

Just 24 hours after his Philadelphia team was knocked out of the NBA playoffs in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference semi-final series against Atlanta, Simmons is being picked apart by the basketball world, still confused as to why a player with all of his weapons fell apart in the postseason.

Nobody is suggesting he doesn’t have the weapons. He is a three-time All-Star and has back to back selections in the NBA All-Defensive First Team.

But the post-mortem investigations keep coming back to one unfortunate truth — Simmons has his dad, NBL great Dave Simmons, to blame for everything.

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His dad is at the centre of the work Sixers coach Doc Rivers says his point guard needs to do this off-season.

His dad is the reason Simmons’ greatest strength was actually his greatest weakness all along.

The conversation that started five years ago when he was taken with the No. 1 overall selection at the 2016 NBA Draft is still bubbling away today.

Can he shoot? Why can’t he shoot? Why does he shoot like that?

The simple answer has always been Simmons is a natural right-hander with a left-handed jump shot that consistently falls apart and consistently plays on his mind.

Related: Australia blindsided by Simmons’ Olympics snub

Ben Simmons was stepping in trouble everywhere he went in Game 7.Source:AFP

Dave Simmons came to Australia in 1989 as a US import in the NBL before marrying and settling in Australia. He has always been his son’s greatest influence and biggest supporter.

“He’s been a big influence. He’s the reason why I play the game,” Simmons said in 2016.

An interview with The Telegraph from 2017 now sums up Simmons’ unfortunate mechanical shooting action troubles.

The elder Simmons said he challenged his son from a young age to practice with his left and right hands.

“That was just me challenging him,” Dave Simmons said.

“I mean, I was doing it with my granddaughter the other day and she is four.

NBA: Australian Ben Simmons has been put under the microscope after the Philadelphia 76ers were bombed out of the playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks….

NBA: Australian Ben Simmons has been put under the microscope after the Philadelphia 76ers were bombed out of the playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks.

“She was throwing the ball to the dog with her right hand, so I asked her to use her left hand and she did it.

“Kids are able to do lots of things if we allow them to. I’ll make them only use their right hand and see how they go.

“I did that with Ben from a young age, but I also did it with all my kids, so I made sure everyone could dribble with both hands.”

It seemed like flawless wisdom at the time, but, boiled down, it’s why Simmons finds himself with an uncertain future heading into the NBA free agency period.

Ben Simmons has games where he looks unstoppable.Source:AFP

Simmons now-famously refused to take an open dunk in the fourth quarter of the Game 7 defeat on Monday and teammate Joel Embiid and coach Doc Rivers appeared to throw him under the bus in the aftermath of their elimination.

The apparent hesitancy is another flow on consequence of Simmons’ fundamental issue of being uncomfortable shooting the ball with his non-dominant hand.

Even before being drafted, videos of Simmons with a left-handed jump shot, but an instinctive habit of finishing in close with his right hand raised questions.

“I think I was supposed to be right-handed,” Simmons said in 2016. “It’s all natural now.”

Former teammate and perimeter shooter JJ Redick said earlier this year on a podcast that he told Simmons to switch shooting hands.

“I’ve seen them shoot right-handed. It’s better form right-handed,” Redick said. “They do everything else right-handed. I don’t understand why you’re shooting a basketball left-handed.”

Ben Simmons admits he didn’t show up offensively against the Hawks.Source:AFP

According to The Ringer, Simmons used his right hand to shoot 67 times in the 2021 NBA Playoffs and just nine times with his left hand.

He also famously threw a pitch with his right hand when given the honour of throwing the first ceremonial pitch at a Major League Baseball game.

Simmons’ ambidextrous nature was supposed to be his greatest strength, but it clearly isn’t.

He attempted just three fourth-quarter shots in the final six games of the series against the Hawks and shot just 25 of 73 from the free-throw line in the 2021 playoffs.

However, there are still NBA teams that will reportedly be lining up to recruit him, should Simmons and the Sixers agree to part ways.

Respected voices in the NBA, including veteran New York Times reporter Marc Stein, have called for Simmons to be traded.

“The Sixers will obviously explore the Ben Simmons trade market in the off-season … as seen in January when Simmons was the centrepiece of Philadelphia’s James Harden pursuit,” Stein said.

San Antonio, Portland, Washington, Houston and Toronto are speculated to be the teams most likely to entertain the idea of trading for Simmons.

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