It’s a tradition unlike any other in the NBA. After a disappointing season in which he barely plays, Ben Simmons gets gassed up in the offseason for “getting healthy” or “taking the next step” or being “ready to dominate.” And then the cycle inevitably repeats itself.
Videos of Simmons in some empty gym surface to feed the narrative, and often the focus is on his highly criticized shooting. It happened again this summer, undoubtedly raising the hopes of Nets fans entering the 2024-2025 season. But, at least in one area, it appears they will be seeing the same old Simmons. If they see him at all, that is.
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That’s because the Nets recently did a fun free throw contest that used a golf-like scoring system. And Simmons finished dead last on the leaderboard. Have a look:
The Nets are running a free-throw competition at the end of every practice.
It’s unclear how points work, but it followed a golf scoring system. The “BKN Tour.” ⛳️🏀 pic.twitter.com/w6OTXT8Lbg
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) October 4, 2024
And here’s a follow-up on how the scoring worked:
Its "Free throw golf"
Swish = -3
Ball hits rim then in = -2
Ball hits backboard and in = -1
Miss FT= +1Knowing this should really scare people about a couple of those numbers
— Gabe Zoda (@GabeZoda) October 4, 2024
Ouch. Finishing even behind center Nick Claxton? A guy whose career FT percentage is barely above Shaq’s? That’s rough.
Then again, Simmons is only at 58.9 percent from the charity stripe for his career. Which makes him hard to hide at the end of games when he’s your primary ball handler. Anyway, the fans took it easy on Ben. Kidding! They roasted him.
Lmaooo those Ben Simmons pre season tapes hitting reality now
— FuLLStop Picks (@FullstopPicks) October 4, 2024
Good to know Ben S been in the lab this summer
— Bubble Stin (@austingiants) October 4, 2024
Of course Ben Simmons, the highest paid player on the payroll is last
— Astrit (@thenyboy) October 4, 2024
Can we get the tape of Ben shooting FTs? Or did the Simmons PR team destroy it already? Maybe he should’ve been practicing those instead of shooting 3’s…
— Allan Linden (@NYFanInCT) October 4, 2024
Ben Simmons after talking about being slept on…HA pic.twitter.com/YP4KFFf9IO
— MadGood Knicks Show™ (@MadGoodKS) October 4, 2024
It could be a long season in Brooklyn, especially with the rival New York Knicks as one of the title favorites. But they’ll always have that offseason hype.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
