CAMDEN, N.J. -- It has been a rough go for Philadelphia 76ers guard Anfernee Simons to begin the 2026-27 season. The 9-year guard is shooting just 5-for-21 from deep (23.8%) through the first four games of the season, which is well below his career norm of 38%.
Simons is coming off missing the entire preseason due to a hamstring issue and it appears to have thrown off his rhythm a little bit as he continues to adjust to the Sixers. He spent the 2025-26 season with the Boston Celtics and the Chicago Bulls before joining Philadelphia in free agency.
With that being said, it's still early. One has to wonder what he does to get himself out of a shooting slump in the early part of the season.
"I think it just depends on the time of the season," Simons
said at practice on Tuesday. "It's early, so I'm able to do a little bit more. Usually if I'm struggling for a couple games, I might just want to go on the court, see the ball, go through the hoop a whole bunch of times. So I might get a whole bunch of reps in or just do 30 minutes, kind of a hard workout just to feel back in rhythm. I think it just depends on how I'm feeling and the time of the schedule of the games and stuff. But I think those two things I would do."
With that being said, Simons is getting good looks. He's had his fair share of opportunities within this offensive ecosystem and he will continue to do so as time moves on. He is around so much offensive talent and they're all playmakers. The looks he's getting are fine. They're just not dropping right now for him.
"I think for the most part they've been good," Simons explained. "Obviously, not playing, you can see now a little bit, not playing and not being able to play in preseason kind of held me back a little bit. But just like I said before, you're going to be able to see throughout these first 20 games how it's going to look. I'll be able to get comfortable with what type of shots I'll get on a game-to-game basis, just getting comfortable with those type of looks. And so I think there's going to come a time, like I said, me continuing to just get those live reps in and continue to be out there and through the learning curve and just learn from here."
There's nothing like actually getting out there and working with the team in a live game situation. The Sixers can practice and rep stuff all they want, but the reps in the game are what will help Simons move forward in this situation. That's how he's going to break out of this slump and move forward for Philadelphia. He didn't have that opportunity in the preseason and now he has to move forward in the regular season.
"Like I said before, just missing preseason, seeing why preseason is so valuable, especially on a new team like this and so many guys," Simons finished. "It's just all those things that happen at one time. So it can feel a little bit like a lot, but each and every game I feel like it's getting more and more comfortable. After that, obviously, where your shot's coming from, you know what your role is, how that feels on a game-to-game basis. And so it's going to help me and the team as well, just get everybody comfortable on the court."
The Sixers will face the Indiana Pacers on the road on Wednesday.
This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Sixers' Anfernee Simons addresses slow shooting start to new season
