Patrick Causey, on Twitter @pcausey3
Leading up to the draft, Ben Simmons was universally praised for his elite passing ability and vision, even drawing comparisons to NBA greats like Magic Johnson and Jason Kidd.
Granted, it’s summer league. But through three games, Simmons has validated the hype, putting on an absolute passing clinic that is leaving spectators breathless and Twitter in a frenzy.
We will have plenty of time to delve into the rest of his game — his athleticism and rebounding are as good as advertised, his defense is underrated, and his shooting woes are still a concern — but for now let’s just sit back and enjoy some of his best work.
Here are Simmons best 15 passes through three games so far. And while you’re watching this #passingporn, try not to get too excited when you realize that Simmons is only 19 years old, and he is only going to get better:
15. Two-handed touch pass:
One thing you notice watching Simmons play is that he is thinking a step ahead of most defenders. Simmons knew where he was going with this pass before he even caught it.
14. No look pass setting up the corner three
It was more apparent during the live broadcast, but watch Simmons closely moments before the pass. He fakes the handoff to Luwawu, causing the defender to close out which opens up the passing lane for the open corner three.
13. Blow by and dish
Zubac gave Simmons loads of space with which to operate. He is eventually going to have to hit that jumper. But in the summer league, he can get away with taking this to the rim, and does a great job setting up Luwawu for the easy lay in (who gets open because his defender, Brandon Ingram, was caught sleeping on help side D):
12. Setting up the Luwawu Three
Simmons doesn’t get credit for the assist here, but it was still a beautiful example of passing and ball movement that we haven’t seen often over the last three years. It is also a good example of how Simmons can run point while another point guard (here, McConnell), is on the floor. Expect to see a lot of baseline cuts this year when Simmons drives to the rim.
11. Back door cut to McConnell
We are already reaching the point at which this starts getting hard, which just underscores how ridiculous Simmons passing has been so far. Simmons is five feet behind the three point line but is able to thread the needle to McConnell for the easy lay-in.
10. No look, behind the back pass
We should get used to Simmons leading the league in “almost assists.” It’s happened multiple times so far in the summer league, and is the result of Simmons teammates… you know, not actually being good at basketball:
9. No look, behind the back pass on fast break
Watch Simmons’ head before he catches the ball. He looks back quickly to see if Luwawu is there, then holds the ball long enough until the defender committed so he could set Luwawu up for the easy lay-in. This is playing chess while everyone else is playing checkers:
8. Drive, spin, dish
Simmons has a sixth sense when it comes to driving, drawing defenders, and dishing to the open man. Teammates better get used to keeping their hands up at all times when cutting through the lane. I expect to see at least 15 passes bounce off Noel’s brick hands in the first month of the season:
7. Making Trey Lyles look silly
Simmons not only had the speed and handle to turn the corner on Lyles at the baseline (major no-no for a defender), but he also had the wherewithal to split two defenders for the assist as he was damn near falling out of bounds.
6. Someone tell Basketball-Reference.com to track “almost assists” this year
Ok this is getting ridiculous. Simmons splits three defenders and delivers a beautiful behind the head pass, which is of course promptly missed.
5. Any other prospects best pass
The fact that this is Simmons’ fifth best pass tells you all that you need to know about how good his passing has been. Simmons threads four defenders hitting McConnell on that baseline cut.
4. Drive and dish to cutting Luwawu
In my scouting report on Simmons, I talked about how he could create space for teammates despite not being a great shooter. Here is a prime example, as Simmons drive to the rim freezes four Lakers defenders, allowing Luwawu to cut baseline for a wide open lay-in
3. The Houdini pass
I legitimately don’t know how in the hell Simmons saw Christian Wood, got him the pass, and whether there is a glitch in the vine or the ball actually disappeared for a second.
2. No words
There are no words to describe this. Just watch and appreciate.
1. The first glimpse
Simmons started his first summer league game doing a couple of nice things. Hitting a jumper, assisting on an open three. But he didn’t do anything spectacular until the early pat of the second quarter, when he did this:
It was the first glimpse Sixers fans got that validated the hype. The first glimpse that gave them reason to believe the Sixers made the right choice taking him first overall. And the first time that Simmons made Twitter go absolutely bonkers.
I’m sure I’ll have to update this list by the end of summer league, because if the first three games are any indication, Simmons is only going to get better as he adjusts to the speed of the NBA.
The Spectrum 