Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons has an MVP blueprint in Antetokounmpo

While Ben Simmons is far from an MVP-level player right now, Giannis Antetokounmpo’s win should give the Philadelphia 76ers point guard a blueprint.

Ben Simmons is a star in the NBA.

I mean the numbers are all there; after winning Rookie of the Year in 2017, the Philadelphia 76ers super-sized point guard earned his first All-Star nod at the tender age of 22 and became only the third player in NBA history to record 20 or more triple-doubles (22) before his 23rd birthday.

For those keeping track at home, that means Simmons records a triple-double once ever 7.27 regular season games.

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However, after 182 games in the league (160 in the regular season and 22 in the postseason) it’s worth wondering whether or not Simmons has reached his ceiling as a player, or if he can somehow ascend past his current status and spend the duration of his prime as a serious MVP candidate.

Now a lot of Simmons’ potential will directly correlate with how much the 6-foot-10 guard wants to work at his craft, as he’s still mostly a non-factor outside of the paint on offense (let alone beyond the arc) and he’s yet to develop into the defensive anchor his body would suggest he’s capable of, but if the Australian Wonder does possess that tireless drive to get better, he may have a blueprint to MVP success in 2019 winner Giannis ‘The Greek Freak’ Antetokounmpo.

I know, I know, comparing Simmons and Antetokounmpo is pretty played out at this point, as the duo share a similar skill set, size, and international zeal, but when you dig into the numbers and mirror the two up, there’s a lot to be encouraged about as well as a couple of potential red flags about his ultimate ceiling as a player.

First, the positives.

Despite entering the league at 20 and missing his entire rookie campaign due to a right foot injury, Simmons clearly outperformed Antetokounmpo during both his rookie and sophomore seasons – averaging more points, rebounds, assists, and steals a game by a pretty hefty margin.

Really, the only stat Simmons didn’t clearly best Antetokounmpo in was 3 point attempts, as Mr. Freak attempted 162 in 158 games.

Unfortunately, this is our first red flag.

While Antetokounmpo didn’t knock down his shots at even close to an NBA average clip from 2013-15 – hitting about 30 percent of his shots from deep (including only seven as a sophomore) – his willingness to actually attempt the shots paid dividends down the road.

In 2015-16, Antetokounmpo’s 21-year-old season, The Greek Freak started to pull away from Simmons (who’d yet to make his NBA debut). Sure, he still wasn’t an effective outside shooter – going 28-109 for 25.7 percent – but Antetokounmpo’s willingness to taking open shots forced teams to play him honest.

Fast forward to this past season and Antetokounmpo still isn’t a great 3-point shooter, but he played above his 25.6 percent clip (52-203) by averaging 27.7 points, 5.9 assists, 10.3 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and 1.3 steals. Finally surrounded by outside shooters and a Coach of the Year winner in Mike Budenholzer, Antetokounmpo ascended into the upper echelon of NBA players; becoming a true position-less wonder despite having an incomplete offensive game.

But can Simmons do the same?

Despite being a much better rookie and sophomore than Antetokounmpo chronologically, Giannis has already lapped his Sixers counterpart in his 22-year-old season by a pretty considerable margin. While Simmons’ stat line more or less stayed the same – going up slightly in one category and dropping in others – Antetokounmpo’s points per game jumped up over 30 percent from 16.9 to 22.9 despite only averaging 0.3 more minutes of action a night. This stagnation is another red flag for Simmons.

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Is it all directly related to shooting 3s? Nope, but Antetokounmpo’s commitment to coming back each offseason with an expanded skill set should be lauded and inspiring for anyone with a growth mentality. If Ben Simmons wants to become an NBA MVP and live up to his potential as the second coming of LeBron James, he has to subscribe to that philosophy and come back to Philly a more well-rounded player. You can have all the talent in the world, but having that will to get better is what separates All-Stars from MVPs.