crazy that this is where ben simmons career started in the nba
3× NBA All-Star (2019–2021)
All-NBA Third Team (2020)
2× NBA All-Defensive First Team (2020, 2021)
NBA Rookie of the Year (2018)
NBA All-Rookie First Team (2018)
NBA steals leader (2020)
he was not a great shooter .. but he was a star nba player ..
then the FT thing got in his head .. and he was pretty much worthless ..
As a Sixers fan, it wasn't the FT thing only. It was shooting. Period. He refused to take a clutch shot. Or any shot. Teams would lay off of him and double Joel, or stick with Reddick, daring him to shoot. He made 5 3s in 4 years with the Sixers. Never shot a 3 with any other team after he left. Great on the break, and as your awards show, great on D. But he was SOFT. Hated criticism. And he was playing in the wrong city to be soft, and for the wrong coach. All of that, along with FTs did get in his head.
His ultimate collapse was mostly due to the FT issue. He was never the same after G7 against Atlanta, when he passed up on a bunny or dunk because he thought he MIGHT get fouled by Trae. Sounds funny now. He never recovered mentally, and IMO, didn't want to play basketball anymore and used injuries as a reason.
In that way, not having a strong passion for the game and being a little mentally soft, I can see the comparison to Peterson. But Simmons never dreamed of the offensive game that Peterson has. On the flipside, Peterson will never have the defensive skills and rebounding ability Simmons had. Could put up a triple double without a shot.
Peterson has the ability to be as good as anyone on the court RN and as good as he wants to be. So far, that is the question- how much does he want it.