Lakers Draft Prospect: Ben Simmons Workout Video Surfaces
By Eric Yee
Ben Simmons is widely assumed to go either first or second overall, meaning he could be the Lakers’ guy come June 23
With Ben Simmons’ last game played on March 12 in which he scored 10 points and recorded 12 rebounds and one assist in a loss to Texas A&M, news regarding the first or second overall prospect’s production on the basketball court had since come to a complete standstill.
This wasn’t aided by the fact that the 6’10 freshman decided to skip the NBA Draft Combine completely, something that has become rather common for top prospects as of late. But Thursday, for whatever reason, Dennis Scott, formerly of the Orlando Magic now with NBATV, posted video of Simmons working out with the caption “Ben Simmons! 1 or 2 pick in draft??”
The short 15 second clip shows video of Simmons going through the motions of two quick drills: one in which he comes to the elbow, spins off his defender and finishes at the rim with his off hand, and another in which he comes to the elbow, this time using a behind the back dribble and a step back to get distance for a college three point ranged shot.
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Without context, it is not certain where in his workout this video took place, this is to say whether it is at the very beginning where he’s just getting warmed up or at the end where he’s dead tired trying to show off his stamina, but there are still a few things we can takeaway from the short clip.
Two of Simmons’ greatest strengths are his ability to handle the ball and finish with his off hand, both of which he puts on display. However, the thing that stood out about this video was his jump shot which looked a lot smoother and more natural than has been advertised.
For proof just look at some of the comments: “No jump shot.”
Similar to his counterpart, Brandon Ingram, it seems that Simmons has heard the pundits and is working to prove his doubters wrong come draft day.
Next: Simmons Has Been Filming a Documentary Since High School
As the draft approaches more news will surface about the two players, especially with the individual workouts coming up, but regardless of who they get, the Lakers are sitting pretty.