At this point, everybody knows about former Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons and his struggles at the free-throw line. He shot 34.2% from the foul line on 6.2 attempts per game in the 2021 playoffs, and it ultimately led to the end of his time in Philadelphia.
Simmons is now with the Brooklyn Nets, but the results are not going much better. He is shooting 43.9% from the line in his first full season with the Nets, and it is an obvious eyesore on his game.
An anonymous NBA coach told Heavy that Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks and star Bradley Beal started the Hack-a-Ben strategy.
The coach told Heavy:
“The first guy that started the Hack-a-Ben process was Scott Brooks with Washington,” he said. “They’re playing Philly a few years ago, and Philly’s up by around 20. Brooks starts putting Simmons on the line in the fourth quarter, and the game is getting closer as Ben is stepping to the line and bricking more and more foul shots. So finally Bradley Beal had to foul him. Usually you don’t have your best player fouling, but at that point he did.
“When that happened, Ben and Beal had this sort of animated conversation. Ben said: ‘I’m tired of you [expletives] fouling me on purpose, man. I’m going to step up here and knock these two down. Five thousand dollars says I will.’ To which Beal replied, ‘You wanna make it 20?’ And then he went up and bricked one. I don’t think he said another word.
“There were certain indicators of this struggle early on. How did you miss it? And that is why he won’t shoot the ball. He lives in fear of having to shoot free throws or shooting air balls from the floor.”
It’s a shame what has happened to Simmons. He has gone from a top 15 player in the league to a bench player in Brooklyn. One can argue he brought this upon himself, and most of that is true, but it is a shame to see a once star player decline into just a role player.
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