Anfernee Simons has spent much of his NBA career waiting for the kind of stage he says he wants most: meaningful games in the spring. Now, after a summer that reshaped Philadelphia’s roster, he’s expecting that chance to arrive with the Sixers.
Simons has reached the postseason only three times in eight seasons, all in Portland, and his playoff resume is still just 15 games deep. Most of those appearances came in a limited role. That’s part of why the prospect of joining a team built to contend has him energized.
While on Tracy McGrady and Vince Carter’s podcast Cousins, Simons talked openly about what drew him to the move and what he sees ahead.
"Playing on the biggest stage," he said, about what he is looking forward to most with Philly. "I had an opportunity to do that in Boston, and then obviously the trade happened, so I wasn't able to be in the playoffs that season.
I was super excited for that season, but I just needed to go somewhere that was a good fit for me and that I was going to be able to show what I can really do. And obviously I have the opportunity to win a championship now with these big additions."
The path to this point has already included a strange detour. Boston traded the 27-year-old to the Chicago Bulls at last season’s deadline, and while the Celtics moved into the postseason, Simons was left watching from home because Chicago was out of the playoff race.
That makes this next stop look a lot more promising. After Philadelphia added arguably the greatest player of all time and two additional NBA champions this offseason, Simons can reasonably expect to be part of a team that matters in the spring.
His role may look different, though. One of the biggest questions around the Sixers is how all of their high-end talent will fit together when there’s only one ball to go around. Simons is projected to come off the bench, which is familiar territory early in his career but has been rare for him over the last four seasons.
He doesn’t sound rattled by that at all. Simons said his time in Portland prepared him for exactly this kind of responsibility.
"My mindset going into the game is I've already competed at a high level with starters, and it's just gonna be easier for me when I come into the game playing against second units. That started off coming up young in Portland," he said.
He also credited several veterans for helping him understand how to embrace a role before he became a full-time featured player. Not everyone enters the league like Damian Lillard, ready to take over from day one, and Simons said those lessons mattered.
"There's a lot of guys that helped me along the way; whether it was Norm Powell (who) helped me out a lot, CJ (McCollum) helped me a lot. Those guys that didn't necessarily come into the league starting."
"I was in the same position where I would have a lot of potential coming in, I might not play. I might be a couple of years out from really contributing, so those guys really helped me build my confidence."
Rodney Hood and Evan Turner were part of that same group of veterans guiding him, too.
"They always taught me: You feel like a starter, but for right now, until you become that, you need to learn how to be able to play a role and play it well."
Simons also spent five years alongside Lillard, and that relationship left a clear mark on his game. The similarities are obvious enough that they jump off the screen, but Simons says what he learned from Lillard went well beyond the style comparisons.
"He went all-in with teaching me the game and how he sees and dissects each and every game, how it depends on how each team is guarding him," he recalled. "He taught me at an early age how to work hard-he's one of the hardest workers I've ever been around by far, still working harder than anybody I've seen. So he just taught me how to be a pro, how to really keep expanding your game every year and trying to evolve as a player."
Simons said he wants to be his own player, not a carbon copy of Lillard. Even so, he knows the resemblance is there, from the deep shooting to the side-step moves, and he views the chance to learn from a top-75-of-all-time player as a blessing.
He’s also entering a locker room with at least one familiar face. Simons said he already has a relationship with Tyrese Maxey, which should help ease the transition.
"I had a conversation with Tyrese, we had a relationship before I came to Philly," he said. "Everybody understands we're going to have to sacrifice; I think that's pretty obvious."
And while the outside world is already circling the Sixers as a title threat, Simons said the group can’t get ahead of itself. The roster may look imposing on paper, but that means very little until the games start.
"We understand the stakes are high. A lot of pressure on us; everybody expects us to win. The message should be (that) none of that matters based off what we look like on paper."
For Simons, the journey has been shaped by all the right lessons: sacrifice, selflessness and hard work. He got a taste of what competitive basketball feels like in Boston, even if that chance was cut short. Now he has a real shot at something much bigger with the Sixers.
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