National Basketball Association

3 Player Comparisons to Ben Simmons That Are Fair/Unfair

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 1:41 p.m. ET

Fansided, Owen Nelson/FanSided via The Sixer Sense

During Ben Simmons‘ short career he has had many player comparison, some fair some unfair. Here’s my take on three of the comparisons that were made about the Philadelphia 76ers rookie.

LeBron James

During Ben Simmons‘ short stay at Louisiana State University (LSU) the most common comparison made was to the Cleveland Cavaliers forward, LeBron James. Its easy to see why Simmons was compared to him, a point forward with elite athleticism, terrific ball handling and a gifted passer.

I believe this comparison is fair because they play the same position, with a very similar skill set. Only difference being Simmons is two inches taller. Another reason as to why this comparison is fair is because LeBron is currently mentoring Simmons ever since the latter signed with LeBron’s agent, Rich Paul.

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The pair’s more than impressive passing ability is what first caught scouts’ eyes. The ability to know where every teammate is and to get the ball to them on time is a skill that simply can’t be taught.

Also, their ability to finish inside is another skill that caught the attention if scouts. On top of this, their jaw-dropping athleticism and ability to maneuver, given their size, is simply amazing and very rare to find. Their ability to finish inside and craftiness around the basket is another skill that is similar. All of these skills combined is what made both players can’t-miss-prospects” when coming into the league.

The jump shots were an area of concern for both players as their careers began or are beginning. We’ve seen LeBron improve throughout his career, but is still not a deadeye from distance, but when he’s hot he can’t miss. Hopefully during Simmons’ rehab he has worked on his shot. Looking at what the Sixers were able to do with Embiid’s shot while he was rehabbing, it seems fair to assume that they could have worked on Simmons as well.

Magic Johnson

What makes this comparison unfair is that Magic Johnson and Ben Simmons played in totally different eras. Magic played in a big-man oriented league, while Simmons is coming into a 3-point shooting league today. That said, you can see many similarities in their games — flashy passes, coast-to-coast dunks and creative ball handling.

Both players played power forward in college, and were the main ball handlers. On top of this, after Magic got drafted he moved to point guard, and Brett Brown has recently said that Simmons will play point guard upon his return. Magic and Simmons are also similar size wise, Magic stood at 6-9 whilst Simmons is currently 6-10.

Another comparison between the players is that when Magic came into the league he had a 32-year-old Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to create one of the greatest one-two punches ever. When Simmons returns he will have Joel Embiid.

I’m definitely not saying Embiid is Kareem, but he is already one of the best big men in the league and he is on a minutes restriction, and still finding himself in the league.

Similar to Simmons, Magic Johnson struggled tremendously with his outside shot. He never shot over 24 percent from until his 10th season when he was 28 years old. The two players possess very similar skills and I can see why Simmons would be compared to Magic, but because of the era difference I don’t believe this comparison to be totally fair.

Lamar Odom

This is a comparison that people like the most, but it didn’t set expectations too high for Ben Simmons. Lamar Odom was still a great NBA player, although he never made an All-Star game or did anything too flashy.

Odom was a 6-10 power forward who could handle the ball. Likewise, Simmons is a 610 power forward who can handle the ball. The measurements of both players supports the comparison.

Odom’s crafty dribbling moves and flashy passes, steaming down the court on the fast break is why Simmons is compared to him. It’s easy to see the similarities in that aspect of Odom’s game, but one difference is that Odom shot over 2 3-pointers a game throughout his career. Simmons only took 3 during his lone season at LSU.

This comparison is somewhat fair because of the play style and size, but I believe Simmons can become a much more effective NBA player — a multi-time All-Star perhaps.

Overall, I believe the most accurate and fair comparison for Ben Simmons is LeBron James because they are playing in the same era. We’ve seen flashes of LeBron in Simmons during Summer League and the fact that Simmons is being mentored by LeBron only solidifies the comparison. If Simmons can become half the player LeBron has become, Sixers fans will be more than pleased. Alongside Joel Embiid, the future looks bright in Philly.