The Prospect Post: Ben Simmons and the Inevitable LeBron Comps

This brings us to Ben Simmons, who is one of the two best players in college basketball (shoutout to Kris Dunn), and could go No. 1 in the 2016 NBA Draft. One only has to watch Simmons play for a couple minutes before a comp creeps to the forefront of the mind. "Who does this remind me of?" -- the self conscious is forced to ponder while the eyes remain lustfully staring at the 6-foot-10 Australian forward. Inevitably LeBron James is the player who comes to mind, both begrudgingly and excitedly.

Our minds are taught that comps to players like MJ, Kobe, and LeBron are foolhardy ways to add excitement to an argument. Essentially anyone who makes such a comp is an attention-seeking fraud, we tell ourselves. After all, the math is on our side. If someone shoots down every one of these outlandish comps, that naysayer will be right more than 90 percent of the time.

People love to accurately point out that Bryant modeled his game after Jordan's. They get the ball in the exact same places and do the exact same things with it, all the way down to the way they finish around the rim. It seems pretty obvious that Simmons has similarly crafted his game after LeBron's.

The willingness to set his teammates up in transition, even when he could probably just beat his man to the rim, the point guard handles in a power forward's body, the skip passes to open three-point shooters, the quick, powerful post moves, it's all there. Their bodies are even similar.

Here are their measurements, with Simmons' coming at 19 years old at LSU's combine this year and LeBron's at age 18 at the pre-draft combine in 2003:

Simmons is averaging 19.9 points, 14.9 rebounds, 6.0 assists, 2.4 steals and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 53.8 percent from the field in 35.6 minutes through seven games. It's not broke, and does not need fixing. That said, his jump shot is obviously not where one would hope and expect it will be in a year or two. Developing that jump shot while maintaining the rest of his offensive skillset will be the top priority for whichever team drafts him next year.

No prospect of Simmons' age and experience is going to be a finished product, but his weakness - shooting - is not a bad weakness to have, given his strengths. His ability to handle the ball, rebound, defend, and most importantly, his unselfishness, are things that are much more difficult to teach. LeBron, MJ and Kobe all came into the league with jump shots that are not close to the level they reached in their respective primes. For players with special athleticism, it is difficult to focus on shooting when it is completely unnecessary to dominate at a young age. It is like elite starting pitchers in high school -- there is no need for them to develop changeups because their fastballs are nearly unhittable. Throwing a changeup essentially would be playing right into the hand, or bat speed of the hitter. So it is with players like Simmons. Any defense in the country will be trying to get him to take jumpers this year, and that will be the case again in his rookie year in the NBA.

The great ones figure out how to make it all work, and it certainly appears like Simmons has a chance to be great. Of course, this time last year it was seen as a forgone conclusion that Jahlil Okafor would be the No. 1 pick in the draft, and he ended up going third overall, so a lot can happen between now and June. Skal Labissiere and Brandon Ingram could challenge to go No. 1 overall in almost any other draft, and they may still play their way into the mix. But this feels like one of those special years, because Simmons has the look of one of those special players.