Philadelphia 76ers: Ben Simmons finally hit his first 3 pointer

Mere minutes into the Philadelphia 76ers’ game against the New York Knicks, Ben Simmons cashed in on three seasons of anticipation with a contested corner 3 pointer.

It happened, it finally happened. After years of anticipation, Ben Simmons finally hit a 3 pointer in a regular-season NBA game – in front of the Philadelphia 76ers‘ home crowd no less.

In a play that looked explicitly called to get the 6-foot-10 point guard the ball, Simmons arched a beautiful shot with Mitchell Robinson barreling his way and watched gleefully as it dropped in nothing but net.

That’s right, Simmons didn’t just make his first 3, he made his first contested 3.

The crowd went nuts, Marc Zumoff went nuts, I went nuts watching from home with my dog Barkley – it was a regular ‘nut party’ in South Philly and the world over.

Statistically speaking, Simmons is now 1-18 from beyond the arc, good for a 5.5 completion percentage, but the first 17 of those attempts came on halfcourt heaves or ill-advised buzzer-beaters. On shots Simmons actually tried to make, the 23-year-old has a 100 percent completion rate, a number that could hold for the next few games, weeks, or even months depending on when the ‘Fresh Prince’ decides to hoist another one up.

Who knows, if this trend continues and Simmons starts averaging a few attempts a week, it could revolutionize how opposing teams play the 76ers throughout a game. With Simmons labeled a non-shooter, teams can double up in the paint, and force Joel Embiid to inch further and further away from the basket to maintain proper spacing. If that stigma starts to change, we may see ‘The Process’ posting up with more frequency – in a move that would make the team even harder to guard.

While this was just one shot, one fantastic shot, everything changed just a little bit when that corner attempt swished through the net midway through the first quarter. Will it change the way the Philadelphia 76ers’ offense runs moving forward? Could having five shooters on the court become even more tantalizing when Josh Richardson returns to the starting five? Only time will tell, but forevermore fans will ask “Where were you when Ben Simmons made his first 3?”