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Ben Simmons is a tremendous talent with a superstar mentality who practically exceeds everyone's expectations. He was selected as the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.
Simmons offers the 76ers a lot of versatility being a 6-foot 10-inch player. On defense, he has the ability to guard positions 1-4 due to his wingspan and offensively, he has amazing court vision and good drive to the rim. While he needs to work more on his shooting, his craft and decision-making skills are outstanding.
The second overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Los Angeles Lakers, Lonzo Ball is a player with very good instincts but still has a long way to go as regards his play-making skills in the half-court.
His amazing transitions make his teammates look good, but a huge concern with Ball is that he might not be able to hit the scoring tally required to reach the superstar realm and have that much impact in the game.
The NBA debate: Ben Simmons or Lonzo Ball - who is better?
Shooting
Ben Simmons has a career average of 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game in 275 games played in the NBA. He recorded 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists last season, with a field goal of 55.7% from 10.1 attempts made from the field.
The Philadelphia 76ers' point guard, on the court in the just-concluded season, had the 76ers recording an effective field goal of 56% and 52% without him. This goes to show the offensive impact he offers the 76ers.
Lonzo Ball averaged 14.6 points last season and completed 4.8 rebounds and 5.7 assists per game. He has a career average of 11.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 6.4 assists per game, having featured in 217 outings in the NBA. Ball has a lesser field goal percentage of .414, netting only 5.3 times in 12.7 attempts from the field.
While Simmons is an amazing addition to the 76ers offensively more than Ball was to the New Orleans Pelicans, his poor jump shot is still a problem he needs to fix to get even better.
Defense
With Ball on the floor, the opponents shot an effective field goal of 55.2% in the 2020-21 season and without him opponents had 54.8%. In the 2020-21 season with Simmons fielded, the opponents recorded an effective field goal of 52.5% against the 76ers.
Simmons is by far a better defensive player than Ball is. Simmons had an amazing defensive record last season. He had a defensive rating of 106.1, which placed him fourth in the NBA with a sixth-placed defensive win share of 3.3. With 1.6 steals per game, Simmons was ranked fifth in the league.
If Ball is to have a big impact in the NBA, he is expected to strengthen his defensive game.
Prediction
The talented Aussie is a walking triple-double against weak defenses and an amazing passer. His best season in points, rebounds, assists and steals had him record 16.9 points (2019), 8.8 rebounds (2019), 8.2 assists (2018), 2.1 steals (2020) and 0.9 (2018) blocks per game.
As for Ball, he recorded 14.6 points (2021), 6.9 rebounds (2018), 7.2 assists (2018), 1.7 steals (2018) and 0.8 blocks (2018) or a game in his best season in the NBA.
Ben Simmons has a better record offensively and defensively than Lonzo Ball, and if he works aggressively on his weaknesses he will surely make a bigger impact in the NBA.
Also Read: What is Lonzo Ball's Net Worth in 2021?
