4 parts of his game Anfernee Simons must elevate to become an All-Star

Area of improvement #3: Pull-up 3-point percentage

This one might sound a bit perplexing at first, as it is somewhat of a nit-pick, but the idea that Simons needs to improve upon his pull-up shooting from deep is grounded in the reality of where he is now.

As a guard, Simons’ best tool in his offensive arsenal is his pull-up jumper. He’s able to go from ice cold to ludicrously hot in a matter of possessions, completely flipping games with his geometry-breaking shooting potential.

He had a handful of contests this year where he caught fire and mercilessly tortured defenders with his jumpers:

If Simons wants to be star, however, he’s a little off the mark. Among the 18 NBA players taking more than four pull-up threes a game, Simons ranks ninth. That’s a solid number at 35.5 percent, but if Simons wants to be an All-Star, he needs to get his efficiency up more towards Dame, who’s fifth in the league at 40.5 percent.

Going from a good pull-up shooter to a knockdown pull-up shooter will open up the rest of the floor for Simons and must be his most tangible pathway to stardom. If defenses have to go all out to fly around screens in fear of his scalding pull-up, Simons will have more space to get downhill, get more free-throw attempts, and find teammates more often in positions to score.

For these reasons, this is the most important swing skill that Simons can improve on to see immediate dividends.