THE rookie season Ben Simmons put together was great. It was historic; something we’d never seen before.

It wasn’t enough, though, and he’d be the first person to tell you that.

Simmons has the potential to be a superstar in the NBA — one of the league’s transcendent players — but it takes time, and he has to earn his way to the top.

“It just depends where I wanna be later in life,” Simmons told foxsports.com.au in August.

Saturday September 26th

“I can be satisfied with 15, eight, and eight, or if I wanna be at that next level and be an All-Star, then I add something to my game.”

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Simmons is entering his second season playing in the NBA, so he gets the chance to perform without the ‘hazing-like’ burden of being the ‘rook’. But, at the same time, he no longer has the benefit of cruising along with the ‘for a rookie’ sort of conversation.

There’s a way for the 22-year-old to get to that next level, and it’ll come with taking a leap in multiple facets of his game. Can Simmons use the 2018-19 season to become the superstar he’s seemingly destined to become?

THE JUMPER

Let’s get this one out of the way.

We’ve spoken about Simmons’ jump-shot ad nauseam, but it's a part of his game he genuinely is focusing on, and one he’ll need to improve if wants to even think about jumping toward the next tier of stardom.

While Simmons has been working on improving his jump-shot, don’t expect a sudden turnaround from the get-go. We shouldn’t be under the illusion that the Melbourne-native will just start jacking up three-pointers, or even taking many more mid-range pull-ups. That’s not going to happen, and it doesn’t need to.

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We may see some improvement with regard to his shot selection, but the big thing to watch will be his free throw situation.

The two numbers Simmons would’ve looked at after his rookie season were: 56 and 4.2.

He shot 56 percent from the line, on just 4.2 attempts per game. That won’t cut it.

The reigning Rookie of the Year has been working with his older brother, Liam, in order to fix his jump-shot, and, more specifically, his free throw. The movement is now more deliberate, his elbow is tucked in more, while his shooting hand is more at a right angle, as opposed to the acute angle it used to be. The nature of that chance means we’ll see more of a push shot than a fling, but the hope is that Simmons can increase his percentage from the charity stripe to at least 70.

“I think Ben will become a good shooter,” one Western Conference scout told foxsports.com.au recently. “Bio-mechanically, he’s got the tools. It will all come with confidence.”

With a higher free throw percentage, the deterrent for getting to the line would be all but diminished, and an entire new facet of Simmons’ game could open up. And, if the jumper — the free throw, in particular — has improved as much as has been advertised, then we could see him turn into one of the most efficient scorers in the league.

LEADING THE LEAGUE

The poise and control Simmons played with as a rookie was extremely impressive, and his average of 8.2 assists per game was good enough for fifth in the NBA, behind the likes of Russell Westbrook, LeBron James, and James Harden.

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Can Ben Simmons lead the league in assists? Source: AFP

From what we’ve seen in the preseason, Simmons is playing with even more freedom than he did as a rookie, seemingly intent on finding a teammate who’s looking for a score every time he pushes the ball in transition or semi-transition. All signs are pointing to Simmons leading the NBA, again, in passes made — last season, he averaged 74.1 a game — and that could naturally lead to more opportunities for assists.

If Simmons can lead the league in assists per game, it’d be a significant notch in the resume of a guy who could be one of the best lead guards in the world, right now.

BE KNOWN AS A ‘TWO-WAY PLAYER’

The reality is, Simmons is already an extremely capable defender.

At 6’10, he has the size, speed, agility, and mobility to effectively guard one-through-four, and his numbers were admirable: from being a top-8 player in the league in Defensive Win Shares (0.146), to having a Defensive Rating of 102.2. Add in the fact that he finished in the top-10 in the NBA in steals per game (1.73), and it’s clear his defensive potential is already in the midst of flourishing.

So, other than being a rookie, what was it that held Simmons back from being an All-Defensive type of stopper?

There are those defensive lapses, generally off the ball, when he gets lazy and stands completely upright. At the college level, Simmons’ natural gifts meant he could get away with that at times, but we saw him exposed in the postseason, particular when guarding quicker point guards like Terry Rozier.

This has been one of the knocks on Simmons since arriving in Baton Rouge, but there’s a sense that he’s getting rid of those bad habits. That’s part of the mindset his brother is working him out with; the sentiment that always seems to be repeated: bad habits take a while to alter.

“I think his 6’10 frame, his ability to go from A to B, his reaction time from like a shoulder up above his head with deflection type hands. He is really impressive,” Brett Brown said in February.

“He covers ground and I think there’s a really big difference between being fast and quick, he has both and I think that that is really the place that he can impact the game the easiest in his early stages is through his defence.”

Simmons has the luxury of playing in front of an imposing centre like Joel Embiid, and amongst a team that’s long and athletic, but the Australian’s intent on the defensive end could be what really elevates the 76ers’ defence to the best in the league, and it seems as though he has his eyes set on that, too.

“I want him to be an all league defensive player,” Brown said recently. ”He has the ability to do that.”

BEN SIMMONS: AUSTRALIA’S FIRST NBA ALL-STAR

Here’s the thing: Simmons will be an All-Star in 2019.

Will he be a starter? It doesn’t really matter. All you need to know is that he’ll probably play in two different games in Charlotte, and, while being named an All-Star is effectively an arbitrary accolade, and shouldn’t solely be used to judge how good a player is, there are rewards that come with the title.

Being named an All-Star means Simmons would be regarded as one of the best players in the world — judged by his peers, coaches, and fans — which is an honour no Australian has had in a significant American league since the likes of Lauren Jackson, Penny Taylor, and Liz Cambage did it in the WNBA.

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Simmons would be the first Australian — we’re not counting Kyrie Irving; sorry — to be named an NBA All-Star, as he continues to be on pace to be one of the country’s most accomplished sportspeople.

More important, for Simmons, is that it’s the start of a legacy. We always hear about 19-time All-Star, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; 18-time All-Star, Kobe Bryant; and 14-time All-Star, LeBron James. En route to becoming a superstar in the NBA, one must first put himself in a position to be labelled a ‘perennial’ All-Star.

The 2018-19 season could, and probably will be that first step.

AVERAGE A TRIPLE-DOUBLE... IS IT REALLY A LONG SHOT?

If Simmons really wanted to skip the pleasantries, and immediately become a superstar, there is one thing he can do: average a triple-double.

Considering what Simmons has already shown us, that sort of feat sounds more difficult than it actually is. Westbrook has done it twice in a row, but Simmons really does have the potential to do it even more organically.

Just think: as a rookie, Simmons averaged 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game. Now, with a year with the 76ers’ core under his belt, and an off-season of improvement, it’s very possible those numbers could inflate.

Throw in the extra points he may get from an improved — hopefully, for his sake — free throw, and it’s not a sensational thing to say that Simmons could be in for a 20, 10, and 10 season.

If that happens — and it’s still an if, at this point — then the conclusion would be simple: Ben Simmons would emerge as a superstar, and the 2018-19 season would be his coming out party.

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Olgun Uluc covers basketball for Fox Sports Australia. Twitter: @OlgunUluc