“Ben Simmons is a jump shot away from being LeBron James 2.0”: Stephen A Smith reveals how all the Sixers star needs to fix his jumper amid the whole Philadelphia drama

Amid the whole Ben Simmons-Philadelphia 76ers drama, Stephen A Smith explains how all the 25-year-old needs to fix his jump shot to be one of the superstars in the league.

Ever since his rookie season, Ben Simmons has been an incredible talent. Standing the 6-foot-10, the unconventional guard manages to handle and pass the ball with the highest efficiency, all while being a menace on the defensive end.

However, after a rather subpar playoffs performance this past season, there has been a lot of hate that Simmons has been receiving all summer. Shooting an abysmal 34% from the free-throw line, fans and analysts have been right in criticising him for disappearing in the postseason.

Things have gotten so out of control with Simmons and the Philly organization that the Australian southpaw is willing to sit out the whole season rather than play for the Sixers. And because of his horrendous playoffs performance, his value has also been badly affected in the trade market.

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Several analysts and former legends have weighed in on Ben’s unique situation. Recently, Stephen A Smith gave his two cents on the whole fiasco.

“If Ben Simmons hits 70-75% of his free throws, he could be a superstar in the league”: Stephen A Smith

On his 30^th September episode of “First Take” SAS spoke about the Ben Simmons situation and how he believed the guard could actually be “LeBron James 2.0” if he actually tried. Smith exclaimed:

“I think it is pretty weak. I think it is pretty weak because he’s (Simmons) pointing the finger at everybody but himself. You should feel compelled to make up to the fans of Philadelphia, how you performed in the series against the Atlanta Hawks.

 Rather than running away from Philadelphia. You should want to run back to Philadelphia. And I’ll tell you why, if you’re Ben Simmons, why you should run back. Because my brother, Ben Simmons, if you are watching – you are literally a jump shot away from being LeBron James 2.0.

If this brother hits 70-75% of his free throws, he is so special at 6-10 with those ball-handling and passing skills, that Basketball IQ, combined with his defensive prowess, this brother is an elite talent that could be a superstar in this league.

And as a person that wrote in Philadelphia for 17 years as a college writer and then an NBA writer and then an NBA columnist before I became a general sports columnist – I’m telling you right now, I couldn’t find three places in America better to be a star in than the city of Philadelphia in terms of a fan base that will come out and ride and die with you.

AI is a testament to that. AI never won a championship. When have you ever heard somebody talking about AI negatively, when it comes to his heart? He’s a warrior… And he didn’t run from Philadelphia, he was like ‘let’s go, give me the rock and let me show you how I’m gonna do this’.”

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Well, it’s pretty safe to say that things don’t really look good for neither Ben nor the Sixers.