When the Philadelphia 76ers landed Anfernee Simons, the price tag turned heads right away. In a league where backcourt money can spiral fast, the Sixers may have walked away with one of the cleaner bargains on the market.
Simons can make up to $12.2 million over two years in Philadelphia. The deal includes a guaranteed $6 million for the 2026-2027 NBA season, with a $6.3 million option for 2027-2028. For a player who still stacks up well against other shooting guards around the league, that’s a sharp number for the Sixers.
A recent position ranking only reinforces that point. HoopsHype placed Simons at No. 26 among shooting guards, which puts him in the top-30 conversation despite the modest salary attached to his name. Philadelphia is paying him $6 million to handle a bench role, while the player directly behind him, Washington Wizards guard Tre Jones, is set to make $8.6 million on his rookie deal after averaging 12.2 points per game and shooting 35.8% from three last season.
The comparison gets even more striking when you look one spot higher. Denver Nuggets guard Christian Braun sits just above Simons after posting 12.0 points per game and shooting 30.1% from deep. Braun is set to make $21.5 million next season, a number that pushes him squarely into overpay territory.
Simons’ value has been easy to debate because of the different versions of him that have shown up over the last year. In Portland, he closed strong as a starter, averaging 19.9 points while shooting 38.1% from three. The Blazers weren’t winning much, so there was fair reason to wonder how much of that production would hold up when the environment changed.
He answered that question in Boston. Coming off the bench for 49 games with the Celtics, Simons stayed productive even with fewer minutes. He played 24.5 minutes per game and still averaged 14.2 points while knocking down 39.5% of his threes.
A trade during the season cut short any chance for a bigger playoff sample. Simons was sent to Chicago for a frontcourt upgrade, but an injury limited him to just six games with the Bulls. Even so, what he did with the Celtics was enough for Philadelphia to bring him in and reunite him with their blockbuster addition, Jaylen Brown.
That sets up a prove-it year for Simons, and one where he could end up looking even cheaper than he already does. For now, though, the Sixers have every reason to feel good about where he fits among his peers.
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