Portland Trail Blazers’ best-kept secret: Anfernee Simons

Legacy refers to the symbolic or material elements that a person leaves to his successors, that which an individual transmits to others, to his disciples, descendants, relatives, apprentices, and so on. A house, but also ethical values, philosophies of life, traditions, and much more. Great players also leave a legacy. Damian Lillard of the Portland Trail Blazers, at 32, is no exception.

His loyalty to the team is beyond debate and beyond the joy he brings day in and day out to fans, and his teachings can be seen in many basketball players throughout NCAA, high school, and AAU tournament leagues.

That’s why we must stop at one of his most outstanding disciples, one who came in while Lillard, the master, was absent and who will have a chance to continue growing alongside him in the 2022-23 NBA season.

If you still can’t figure out who he is, his name is none other than Anfernee Simons. In his jump shots from beyond the three-point line, in the calm and annihilating stare, in the ability to rouse fans, in the indefensible side-step, therein lies perhaps Damian Lillard’s greatest legacy in the barely 23-year-old.

Don’t sleep on Anfernee Simons

Considering the Blazers had just 27 wins in the regular season, the NBA’s attention wasn’t focused on the young prodigy, but that shouldn’t be a factor in trying to explain and analyze why the franchise has an interesting project that will be able to join Lillard and the older guys in the quest for a playoff spot in 2022-23.

His offensive package of total mastery of the mid-range and long-range shot, upward growth, and off-ball moves, is something you don’t see every day, and that places him as one of the main offensive threats of the team.

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Simons is an excellent finisher, and according to StatMuse, Simons averaged 22.0 points per game when Lillard was absent last season, with an outstanding 41.5% three-point shooting mark that is very remarkable for the number of shots he attempted from that area (4.1 conversions on 9.8 attempts).

Receiving after a direct cut, arriving in transition with the ball in his hands, exploding from the elbows, and reading opposing defenses better and better, Simons made it clear that he can increase his efficiency levels when he is given more of the spotlight. As a result, his opponents are having a harder and harder time trying to stop him.

Along with that, last season, Simons showed that he can attack the rim, and his skill set, while limited, is increasing as the years go by. In fact, BBall Index gave him offensive grades of A+ in floaters and A- in finishing while he can also hurt from mid-range (A+) and as a playmaker (A-).

His 5.5 assists when Lillard wasn’t on the court reflect that, and his dangerous shooting ability allow him to open up other spaces both when traps come and when he has to get ahead of schemes and break to the paint, unloading both inside and outside with good vision.

Though now that Lillard is healthy and ready to turn the NBA upside down, he won’t get as much use as he did in the games he was out.

His ability to move without the ball is something that not many know how to do and that makes him the perfect hybrid of scorer and secondary role player who can mold himself to Damian and also to the rest when number zero has to rest.

When Damian, Jerami Grant, and Jusuf Nurkic are pressed, Blazers fans can rest easy. Simons will be open, ready to receive, and have the net make a soft sound like a Chuck Berry guitar.

Much more than a scorer

Since Portland didn’t catch the attention of many in the NBA, Anfernee’s defense gets pushed away by their great offense. Therein, ladies and gentlemen, lies one of the keys that transform this kid into someone with All-Star potential.

His physique doesn’t look imposing to the common eye, but he has some great qualities. He is 6’2.25″ but has a wingspan of 6’9.25″ and a length of 7. According to Crafted NBA, only 64 players in the entire NBA have a better height and wingspan differential.

He is not a defensive prodigy, that’s for sure, but his good physicality gets him out of uncomfortable situations and he is being attacked less and less by opposing teams.

For example, through Jan. 17, 2022, according to Bball Index, Simons ranked in the top five in the ball handler screen defense metric.

Jrue Holiday, Lonzo Ball, Dejounte Murray, and Mikal Bridges, four of the NBA’s best defensive specialists, were in that group at the time, to give you an idea of what his true potential is.

Considering that, according to Basketball Reference stats, Portland had the worst defensive rating last season (116.9), having a player like Simons is momentous.

Anfernee Simons is under contract with Portland through 2026 and the future is smiling down on him in an environment of growth alongside one of the best teachers someone like him could ask for.

Anfernee Simons, my friends, is the Blazers’ best-kept secret, and perhaps one of the best kept in the entire NBA. Remember him, follow him, and enjoy him.