Getty Jason Kidd instructs his team against the Phoenix Suns
Newly acquired Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons increased his field goal percentage and points per game in each of his first three seasons in the NBA. He was also one of the top candidates for the NBA’s Defensive Player of the Year award in 2021. But the one knock on the 3-time All-Star’s game has always been his lack of a jump shot. He has a career three-point percentage of 14.7%. But now that he is joining a team full of shooters in Kyrie Irving, Kevin Durant, and Joe Harris who is set to return next season, his devoid of a jump shot won’t be as glaring of weakness for much longer.
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Jason Kidd Gives Ben Simmons a Reality Check
Even though Simmons won’t need to have a reliable jump shot in Brooklyn as much as he did in Philadelphia, his developing a perimeter game would make the Nets that much more dangerous. Former Nets star and Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd can relate to having early shooting struggles, as he was a late bloomer in developing a jump shot. Kidd offered Simmons some advice on his shooting struggles before the Mavericks took on the Washington Wizards on April 1.
“Everybody is different, everybody has a different journey. Some are tagged to one another. For some reason, I got tagged to all of the non-shooters, but I could shoot I just didn’t have to,” Kidd said to Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson of Bally Sports.
Ben Simmons & his jumper has been compared to Jason Kidd.
Kidd tells @BallySports that his advice to Simmons is to “keep working”
& that everybody is “not Steph Curry”
& everyone doesn’t have “handles like Kyrie.”
Per Stat Muse, Kidd shot just 30.4% from the three-point line his first two seasons in the NBA but went on to increase that percentage to 35% over the next three seasons. He even shot over 40% from beyond the arc in back-to-back seasons with the Dallas Mavericks in 2008 and 2009.
“But it’s just a process of, you know being able to go and work on your craft, on areas that you need improvement on. If everyone came out as Steph Curry in the game, you know it would be boring. So, you know there are different players in this league that do special things and those same players have to work on certain areas,” Kidd continued.
“If everyone had all the gifts of shooting the ball or dribbling like Kyrie then the game would be boring, so everyone has to work on their game. Even the great players you talk to, you know LeBron, and those guys who have played on the highest level, they continue to work on their craft. So, no matter if you can shoot or not shoot, you have to work on that part too, the dribbling, passing, rebounding all of that. So, I would just advise all of the young players to continue to keep working.”
Jason Kidd Gives Manu Ginobili High Praise
On March 31 NBA insider Shams Charania of “The Athletic” reported that Spurs legend Manu Ginobili will be inducted into the 2022 Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame class. Manu and Kidd were drafted five years apart so they have had plenty of battles on the court. Kidd defines Ginobili as a “warrior who competed”.
“Sacrifice for best of the team, [Ginobili] could’ve easily started in this league, [but] came off the bench,” Kidd said of Ginobili per Landon Buford. “It just shows the real talent of what it means to be a real teammate.”
If Simmons can develop a reliable jumper ahead of this year’s playoffs, it could cause major problems for the Nets’ opponents.
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Ex-Nets Star Gives Ben Simmons Reality Check About His Shooting Struggles