September 22, 2026
Brian Fluharty/IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect
Anfernee Simons is one of the most accomplished three-point shooters in the NBA.
Welcome to PhillyVoice's series of Sixers player previews ahead of the 2026-27 season.
After two years of volatility, Sixers fans entered this offseason teetering on apathy. Then came new Sixers President of Basketball Operations Mike Gansey, the architect of what became a dream summer. Gansey traded Paul George away, landing five-time All-Star Jaylen Brown from the Boston Celtics. As Gansey accumulated depth around Brown, Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and VJ Edgecombe, the door opened for an unfathomable addition.
LeBron James is a member of the Sixers, rounding out one of the most talented starting lineups in recent NBA history. And suddenly, the Sixers have cultivated more local and national interest than ever before. Games are not won on paper, but the Sixers are built to be full-blown championship contenders for however long James remains in Philadelphia.
As Sixers Media Day on Sept. 28 nears, our player preview series will focus on two key questions surrounding each member of the team's 14-player standard roster.
Up next: Anfernee Simons, one of the NBA's most accomplished three-point shooters with a long history of starting. He began a transition to serving as a high-end bench guard last season in Boston, and now will continue that evolution in Philadelphia, where his long-range prowess will come in handy for a team with bottom-third three-point volume and accuracy a season ago. Can Simons prove himself as one of the game's best bench guards?
SIXERS PLAYER PREVIEWS
Joel Embiid | Labaron Philon Jr. | Dean Wade | Dominick Barlow
Adem Bona | Tyrese Maxey | VJ Edgecombe | Jaylen Brown
Ariel Hukporti | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | Anfernee Simons
It is not a question whether or not Simons will be the Sixers' worst defensive player. The question is whether or not he will be such a significant negative on that end of the floor that the Sixers will be completely incapable of relying on him in a playoff setting.
Simons is extremely small – his 6-foot-3, 200-pound listing seems generous – and despite having length and athleticism, he has been unable to ever register as a remotely competitive NBA defender. The issues are not purely physical; Simons is also prone to lapses in terms of focus and execution:
Anfernee Simons routinely grades as one of the worst defensive players in the NBA, thanks in large part to his lack of size and strength. But there are also lapses in judgement and execution: pic.twitter.com/ab0CovxPly
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) July 4, 2026
If Simons is a very bad defender – one of the NBA's worst, even – the Sixers can survive relying on his offense off the bench, in part because they already have so much firepower on that end of the floor and in part because Simons does not project to start or close games for this team barring multiple injuries to ball-handlers ahead of him in the pecking order.
When the playoffs roll around, though, players with defensive track records as ominous as that of Simons are routinely forced to earn their keep. When that time comes, will the Sixers be able to bank on getting 20-plus minutes out of Simons, whose offensive impact could be significantly positive?
To some degree, the calculus that will produce the answer to that question is also dependent on Simons' teammates: a defense is not necessarily as good as its weakest link in the NBA, but it is oftentimes responsible for masking that player's troubles. If the Sixers struggle to get consistent stops as a team, it will be harder to envision Simons playing a role of remote significance in important games. If they find success there, they will have an easier time fitting Simons into the picture.
SIXERS FILM STUDIES
Jaylen Brown's strengths | Jaylen Brown's weaknesses
Anfernee Simons | Dean Wade | Ariel Hukporti
Simons' usage in the NBA has been heavily skewed towards on-ball work, but it is abundantly clear that on these Sixers he can be a lethal three-point marksman and does not need to tap into his decent on-ball chops.
When considering accuracy, volume and degree of difficulty, there are very few shooters in the recent history of the NBA with the sort of prolific production that Simons has posted from beyond the arc. On a team full of high-octane scorers capable of commanding attention from entire defenses, having someone ready to not just knock down catch-and-shoot threes at a high clip, but to do so quickly and from far out, will be immensely valuable.
Anfernee Simons has typically functioned as an on-ball player shooting lots of pull-up three-pointers, but he can also spot up from well beyond the arc: pic.twitter.com/TDlkVvffOT
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) July 5, 2026
Simons is such a dynamic shooter that, with all of the stars and superstars on this roster, the Sixers' best offensive lineups might be the ones including Simons – even if he is largely relegated to standing behind the three-point line without the ball. He is as valuable in that sort of role as any role player the Sixers have had in several years.
If the Sixers need ball-handling from Simons in a pinch, that is fine, too; even if he was being overtasked as a full-time starting point guard and go-to scorer he does have extensive NBA experience in that role. The Sixers becoming reliant on Simons as a creator or scorer would indicate major problems, but he can be serviceable in those areas:
Anfernee Simons has a good mix of off-the-dribble scoring abilities, from long pull-up threes to some mid-range work and occasional pressuring of the rim: pic.twitter.com/SlgfrIz9lT
— Adam Aaronson's clips (@SixersAdamClips) July 4, 2026
Exactly how the Sixers divide Simons' minutes between initiating offense, operating in two-man actions with Embiid, spotting up for threes and running around screens will be an interesting subplot to monitor. Simons has never been used quite like the last elite Sixers sharpshooter, JJ Redick, but incorporating some movement shooting into his regular repertoire would do a lot for his game. He should develop a strong rapport with Embiid, as many guards before him have done, from Redick to Seth Curry to Maxey to Jared McCain.
SIXERS SIGN LEBRON JAMES
James' decision | Projecting Sixers' rotation | James' impact, on and off the court
