Philadelphia 76ers Casually Tease Ben Simmons 3-Pointer in a Scrimmage

Over the last two summers, Philadelphia 76ers All-Star Ben Simmons vowed to work on his three-point shot. Up until the 2019-2020 NBA season, Simmons had yet to drain a three-pointer during a game. Coming into the NBA, Simmons was visibly hesitant and admittedly not confident in his long-range shot.

Therefore, the third-year player stuck to what he did best, which was passing, dunking, and playing suffocating defense. Simmons did work on his jump shot over the last two summers though, and there was always video evidence floating around social media to prove it. As expected, Sixers fans jumped for joy in hopes that Simmons would come out firing threes during his third season in the NBA.

While he did attempt the deep shot a few more times than usual -- Simmons remained hesitant to launch a jump shot consistently throughout the year. During the NBA's COVID-19 hiatus, Simmons finally acknowledged his lack of shooting and told ESPN's Jackie MacMullan that he's ready to step out of the box and expand his game.

Many laughed it off, thinking Simmons was only saying that because the season was currently paused. But based off of a short snippet of 76ers practice down in Orlando, it looks like Simmons is willing to take the deep shot in a scrimmage at least.

Simmons' three-point shot is no longer as critical as it was before considering his recent change of position on the floor. However, in today's NBA, it's essential for almost every player to be able to knock down a few three-balls here and there. Simmons has proven he can take and make the shot, but he hasn't built up the confidence to do it in a game setting consistently.

Perhaps, that could change in Orlando. Nobody should bank on Ben Simmons becoming three-point happy during the NBA's restart, but based off of his comments over the last few months, it seems the two-time All-Star is willing to expand his game in order to help with the team's spacing situation in the playoffs.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_