The few fans who stuck around for the end of Tuesday night’s Phillies/Dodgers game no doubt heard the “Trade Ben Simmons” chants echoing loudly through rain-drenched Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia. Sixers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey has spent the offseason trying to do precisely that, brokering trade talks with Golden State, Sacramento, Toronto and Indiana, among other suitors. Simmons, for his part, seems resigned to this fate, cutting off all contact with the team that drafted him first overall in 2016.
A renowned defender with elite length and athleticism, Simmons’ game is really only lacking in one area. Unfortunately for the 25-year-old, his fatal flaw happens to be the most important skill of all, particularly in today’s shooter-friendly environment where low-post bangers in the mold of Shaquille O’Neal are largely extinct. Even seven-footers like Nikola Jokic and Simmons’ teammate Joel Embiid boast three-point range, but not Simmons, who, for whatever reason, has never had the confidence to shoot from that distance. Simmons’ yips took on a life of their own during last year’s playoffs, culminating in a disastrous second-round series against Atlanta.
While some would argue Simmons was never a good shooter and likely won’t become one at any point in his career, others, including former NBA Defensive Player of the Year Metta Sandiford-Artest, see it as a mental block. “Fixable. Easily fixable,” said Artest, taking mere seconds to diagnose Simmons. “I’m looking at it like he’s got butterflies. I got butterflies every game. I’m not going to tell you I’m nervous, but plenty of times I’ve been nervous. But you learn to live with it.”
Shooting poorly is one thing but avoiding the act altogether is even worse. When Simmons passed up an open layup in the Sixers’ Game 7 loss to the Hawks, it shined a burning-hot light on his deteriorating confidence. “He doesn’t believe in himself right now,” said Artest while appearing on Shannon Sharpe’s weekly YouTube show Club Shay Shay. “He has to learn to live with butterflies. Literally Game 7 of the Finals, I’m seeing my therapist. Why? Because I didn’t feel I was strong enough. I admit to that. But I want to win. I want to win by any means necessary. If that means I have to go see my therapist, I’m doing that.”
Mental health, once considered a taboo subject in the hyper-masculine realm of professional sports, is treated much differently today with athletes like Kevin Love, Naomi Osaka, Liz Cambage, DeMar DeRozan, Michael Phelps and Simone Biles all acknowledging their struggles. Artest, who spoke at length about the role anxiety and depression played in his outburst during the infamous Malice at the Palace brawl in Detroit, would encourage Simmons to seek the help of a sports psychologist to help calm his nerves.
“Sports therapy is the most amazing thing ever. That’s why they have it,” said Artest, who credits his decision to see a therapist as the turning point in his career. “Sports therapy is normal and he should really consider it.”
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