Kobe Bryant doesn’t like the look of Ben Simmons’ shooting stroke

AUSSIE NBA star Ben Simmons is at the lowest point of his young career — and this isn’t going to make him feel any better.

Ben Simmons has had his struggles throughout the season with his jump shot.

BEN Simmons’ biggest flaw has been under the microscope throughout his entire rookie season and now an NBA legend has weighed in.

From shots taken outside of 10 feet from the rim, Simmons has struggled mightily as he’s only managed to hit 69 shots from 224 attempts.

Teams have tried to force Simmons away from the rim all season long in the hope of leaving him open for jump shots.

While the Aussie phenom has been able to escape without a serviceable jumper for the majority of the season, he’s had a tough time in the Philadelphia 76ers’ second round playoff series against the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics’ defensive structures have kept Simmons from running in the open floor and attacking the rim at will.

With the 76ers now siting on the brink of elimination and their off-season break just around the corner, Simmons’ shooting struggles have been highlighted as a critical component he must address.

Former Los Angeles Lakers superstar and five-time NBA champion Kobe Bryant addressed the impact it’s having during a radio interview.

After twice leading the league in scoring and ending his career in the top three for field goal attempts, Bryant was one of the most feared shooters the game has seen.

His thoughts on Simmons’ stroke won’t exactly inspire confidence in the rookie who helped Philly win their first playoff series in six seasons.

Kobe Bryant on Ben Simmons' jumper: "Aesthetically, I would say build that thing anew." 😂😂https://t.co/2kDjk70XBU … pic.twitter.com/xMkcovc8eN

— Tyler Conway (@jtylerconway) May 6, 2018

“Just aesthetically I would say build that thing anew (laughs),” Bryant said on the Chris and Caron show on Fox Sports Radio.

But Bryant believes the outcome of the series so far hasn’t necessarily come down to Simmons’ inability to hit a jumper.

“I don’t think the game came down to that though. I think on a fundamental level, being able to get open off the ball is what did them in,” Bryant said.

“They just tried to pop free for the ball, and in that situation you can’t do that.

“You got to put your body on your defender, hold them off and now you got to pop for the ball. Those are just basic, fundamental things, but those little fundamental things are what cost teams playoff series’ and eventual championships.

“So it’s those little fundamental things that you’ve really got to focus on from Day 1 in training camp, because if you lose sight of that it comes back to haunt you.

“In the league, in the NBA, it tends to be overlooked. But Phil Jackson (Bryant’s coach for all five titles) never overlooked that stuff.

“We would do basic things. How to pop for the ball, b-cuts, proper bounce passes, left hand passes, right hand passes. All those little things. As you saw in that Philly series, there were two plays where they turned the ball over on passes.”

Sixers Ben Simmons on his mistakes:

“I have a lot of growing to do”@6abc #BenSimmons #Sixers #philaunite pic.twitter.com/d3xxmu2rFO

— Jeff Skversky 6abc (@JeffSkversky) May 6, 2018

Simmons is only 21-years-old and as he admitted he still has “a lot of growing to do”. But is he trying to do to much?

There’s no doubting he possesses incredible basketball talent and will rule the landscape for years to come, but some say overconfidence is leaking into his game.

“He is still just 21, far from a perfect player, far from a finished product, and this series against the Celtics and Sunday’s 101-98 loss in Game 3 have been loaded with Icarus moments for him, with too many bad decisions born of recklessness and overconfidence,” Mike Sielski wrote for the Philly Inquirer.

Philly coach Brett Brown admitted that at times throughout the current series against Boston, his young players had been put in their place and looked their age.

Simmons blew a critical moment for the 76ers with the team leading in the dying seconds of overtime during Game 3.

Ben Simmons wishing he could have this one back pic.twitter.com/IyJA8kwEvc

— CBS Sports (@CBSSports) May 5, 2018

Following the game Brown spoke about the moment and said if they could have a redo, the play would have unfolded differently.

“If it was a point-blank dunk, you probably would take that,” Brown said.

“But he didn’t do it. It’s true: He makes that all the time in practice. There’s 19 seconds left. If we had it again, you’d probably bring it back out and let them chase you and foul you and chew up the clock. But on so many levels, this being one of the examples, it’s the thing I see and feel the most and sort of internally hear the loudest: that our young guys, at times, look young.”

As the 76ers season looks likely to be ended by the Celtics when Game 4 gets underway on Tuesday (AEST), Simmons will have plenty of time in the off-season to address his games biggest achilles heel and help elevate his play into another stratosphere.

Originally published as Kobe Bryant doesn’t like the look of Ben Simmons’ shooting stroke