Hero of the end of the match against Brooklyn with a small victorious tear-drop, arms open to his audience at his feet, Anfernee Simons probably also brought tears to the eyes of more than one old Blazers fan.
Drafted by Portland out of high school in 2018, the Portland back was then the first player to make the big jump since 2005, and the control measures promulgated by the League.
Six years later, it is he who, still a baby, is filling the immense void left by the departure of his mentor and friend, Damian Lillard, who left to seek recognition in Milwaukee.
Evan Turner makes him “carry” his suitcases
Among the best scorers in the League in the last quarter, with 8.6 points in 9 minutes on average (at a very honest 46% success rate including 42% at 3-points), but also 23 points and 5 assists on average (figures that he has held – more or less – for three seasons now), Simons certainly does not have a wrist gimmick in his arsenal. But for the rest, the veteran of only 24 years has everything in store!
“In the team, I'm considered one of the old guys, which is a bit crazy for me. But, compared to the rest of the League, I am still a young player,” he says for The Old Man and the Three. “It's funny because Mike Schmitz, who is now our assistant GM, interviewed me when I was at the IMG Academy. He asked me which players I looked like in the NBA. And I answered Dame and CJ. Without knowing that I was going to play with them a few weeks later. But, this first season, I knew from the start that I was going to experience horrible moments. I knew it because I was far from being physically fit. Technically, I could get through it but I was starting so far from a physical point of view, I wasn't ready. But I accepted my fate, telling myself that even if I was going to be humiliated more than once, above all I was going to progress. »
As he himself admits, he fell in love with Portland. A team well established in the hierarchy of the Western Conference with an offensive game that starts from the back lines, and the inevitable duo Damian Lillard – CJ McCollum. And a good culture in the locker room.
Like the treatment reserved by his teammate Evan Turner, who did not fail to remind him of his duties as a rookie. Like driving him home in the middle of the night, after a long trip, with his luggage in the trunk. Because Turner was in his Ferrari… which couldn't hold his suitcases!
Or that other time when Simons (and Gary Trent Jr.) were asked by their veteran to go and replace a buckle on his Louis Vuitton boot that had just broken. Under the snow in New York!
“In hindsight, it sure seems crazy that Evan Turner made me do all that. But I knew, even while doing it, why he was doing it. It’s to instill humility in the young players who arrive. I was so clueless when I arrived that I agreed to do whatever was asked of me without question. But seriously, I learned a lot from all our veterans. Every team needs it! »
Forced, then relieved, to take the plunge into the NBA
Landed in the deep end of the NBA at just 18 years old, Simons was shark fodder. In truth, the kid from Florida was not destined to take the plunge so quickly. He wanted to stop at the NCAA box. But the latter vanished…
“I had to go to Louisville. I had given them my consent a year ago already. But this thing happened [une grosse affaire de fraudes et corruption, ndlr] in Louisville, and I had to start from scratch in my recruiting process. All the big schools already had their recruits at the back positions, so I had few options left. There was Florida which still offered a tuition scholarship, but ultimately it was taken in the meantime. My last options were NC State and one or two other colleges at that level. NC State probably would have been a good option for me in the end, because I could have done a little bit of what I wanted. But, once I understood that it was over in Louisville, I went straight to the NBA. They told me about the Draft and I skipped college! I thought things might happen to me at university. We saw a lot of guys thinking about going there for a year and staying there for four in the end. But originally, I did my year at IMG to prepare myself for playing in college. »
Having gone from high school to the highest level, so to speak, overnight, Simons obviously had to wait, and eat his black bread, before finding some playing time these first three years. And more and more responsibility, even more so after Lillard left, these last three.
“I had to completely relearn how to play basketball. My first year, I didn't play much so I mostly observed. Lady and CJ, how they perform night after night. How they think about the game. And my second year, when I started playing, I realized that I still had a long way to go [rires] ! I remember, face in New Orleans, it must have been one of my first tenures. I was in front of you too [JJ Redick]. I made three mistakes in a row! The three fastest mistakes of my career. Once you stop running and I crash into you. The second on a fake shot. It was a bad evening for me. But these are the mistakes you have to live through to progress. »
The worthy heir of his mentor
A natural scorer capable of hitting at all three levels, Simons above all had to learn to adapt his game according to the role asked of him by his coach, Terry Stotts in this case. Namely to be above all an offensive joker coming off the bench. A top 3-point threat.
“My third year, I knew that I should no longer take my shots from mid-range, even if I can hit them. Because they are not the most effective shots. So, I simplified my game to the extreme. I shot 3-pointers, and that's it! If there was no open shot, I passed the ball. And maybe, from time to time, I could finish on the layup, but rarely. It helped me in my career because I ended up being recognized as a shooter. And I was able to expand my offensive palette from there. »
Offensive leader of a young Portland team which notably includes Scoot Henderson and Shaedon Sharpe on the outside positions, Anfernee Simons is in any case the perfect relay between the two generations which seem destined to succeed one another.
He who learned so well from Damian Lillard, forever a Rip City legend. As Simmons could also become, if he manages to bring the Blazers back to the forefront in the years to come.
His last card
| Anfernee Simons | Percentage | Rebounds | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | MJ | Min | Shots | 3pts | L.F. | Off | Def | Early | Pd | Party | Int | Bp | Ct | Pts |
| 2018-19 | POR | 20 | 7 | 44.4 | 34.5 | 56.3 | 0.2 | 0.5 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.6 | 0.0 | 3.8 |
| 2019-20 | POR | 70 | 21 | 39.9 | 33.2 | 82.6 | 0.4 | 1.8 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 1.9 | 0.4 | 0.9 | 0.1 | 8.3 |
| 2020-21 | POR | 64 | 17 | 41.9 | 42.6 | 80.7 | 0.2 | 2.0 | 2.2 | 1.4 | 1.5 | 0.3 | 0.7 | 0.1 | 7.8 |
| 2021-22 | POR | 57 | 30 | 44.3 | 40.5 | 88.8 | 0.5 | 2.2 | 2.7 | 3.9 | 1.9 | 0.5 | 2.0 | 0.1 | 17.3 |
| 2022-23 | POR | 62 | 35 | 44.7 | 37.7 | 89.4 | 0.3 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 4.1 | 2.3 | 0.7 | 2.1 | 0.2 | 21.1 |
| 2023-24 | POR | 19 | 33 | 41.8 | 38.3 | 89.9 | 0.5 | 3.0 | 3.5 | 4.9 | 1.8 | 0.5 | 2.3 | 0.1 | 23.0 |
| Total | 292 | 25 | 43.1 | 38.6 | 86.3 | 0.3 | 2.0 | 2.3 | 2.6 | 1.8 | 0.4 | 1.4 | 0.1 | 13.3 | |
How to read the stats? MJ = matches played; Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; Off = offensive rebound; Def=defensive rebound; Tot = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; Pts = Points.
