Has Ben Simmons Improved?

Ben Simmons has recently been in many talks determining his value, especially with the James Harden trade rumors.

Ben Simmons is currently averaging a career low in points (13.0) and field goal percentage (52.6%), while hovering around the same averages for other stats. Since his rookie season, he has not improved, and has possibly became worse. During his rookie campaign, Ben Simmons had a +6.9 plus minus per 100 possessions, compared to a 5.2 plus minus this year. Compare these to Joel Embiid, who during these years had a +11.4 in 2017-18, and currently has a +12.1 this year. Simmons at the rim efficiency has declined, where he shoots around 55% of his shots from. The main critique for Simmons has been his lack of an outside shot, which has not seen real change, only attempting .35 attempts per game this year, on 16.7% efficiency. On paper, there is no evidence of improvement by Simmons, and the eye test agrees too, seeming uninterested at times during games, which can be shown via him attempting 3.5 less attempts per game this year from his rookie year. Ben Simmons win share per 48 minutes has decreased since his rookie year to a career low, .136. A significant telling of regression is Ben’s usage percentage lowering 3.2%, yet his turnover percentage increased 4.1%. Possibly the most surprising decrease is his offensive box plus/minus. In his rookie season Simmons had a 2.0 OBPM, which has plummeted to a 0.1, which means he is not even an above average offensive player. His PER was 20 for his rookie year, falling down to 17.5, which is 84th best in the league. Though the seasons is still in its early stages, seeing regression from a player with an 177 million dollar contract is alarming.