Sixers’ Ben Simmons joins Joel Embiid as Eastern Conference All-Star

ATLANTA — Ben Simmons draws criticism for passing up shooting opportunities on the perimeter. However, the 76ers point guard knows that NBA insiders appreciate his value.

The latter was evident Thursday night when the NBA All-Star Game reserves were announced.

Simmons was named an Eastern Conference reserve for the second consecutive season. The reserves, selected by the league’s coaches, were announced 30 minutes before the Sixers’ game against the Atlanta Hawks.

“It’s been a tough week [with Kobe Bryant’s death], so it’s nice to get a blessing like that,” Simmons said. “I’m just blessed to be in this position.”

The 69th All-Star Game will be played Feb. 16 in Chicago.

“To me, it is one of the head-scratching no-brainers that he a is clear NBA All-Star,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said of Simmons. "If we would have had a better record (31-17 as of Wednesday), he could have been named a starter.

“So he is clearly, and will be for a long time, an NBA All-Star. He’s just scratching the surface.”

Simmons will join Joel Embiid, who was named an Eastern Conference starter for the third consecutive season on Jan. 23. This marks the first time the Sixers had multiple players selected as All-Stars in consecutive years since 2001 and 2002. Allen Iverson and Theo Ratliff were named All-Stars in 2001. The next season, Dikembe Mutombo joined Iverson.

The last time the Sixers had the same multiple players selected to consecutive All-Star Gamess was 1987 and 1988. Charles Barkley, Maurice Cheeks, and Julius Erving were All-Stars in 1987. Erving retired at the end of that season, but Barkley and Cheeks were All-Stars in 1988.

Entering Thursday, Simmons was averaging 16.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 8.4 assists (fifth in the NBA), and a league-leading 2.2 steals. He had four triple-doubles.

“What is crazy is you hear about really the one thing he can’t do,” Wizards coach Scott Brooks said earlier this season. “It’s crazy that he gets criticized that he doesn’t shoot threes. But if you don’t have to shoot threes, why do you need to shoot threes when you get to the paint with ease and you have strength and can rebound and can pass, you can finish with either hand? It is crazy.”

Entering Thursday’s game, Simmons had attempted only five three-pointers this season, making two of them.

Brooks said he has been around a lot of one-trick ponies who can only shoot. The former Sixers point guard noted that they don’t get criticized for lack of defense, rebounding, and passing.

“That guy is as close to LeBron James as anybody with the strength and size and court vision that he has,” Brooks said.

​ Simmons displayed his versatility during the nine games that Embiid missed with a torn ligament in his left ring finger. The 6-foot-10, 240-pounder averaged 21.5 points, 9.3 rebounds, 7.8 assists, and 2.3 steals while leading the Sixers to a 6-3 record.

“Ben is a generational talent,” Hall of Fame point guard Steve Nash said recently. “He is a crazy athlete who can play multiple positions, offense and defense. Obviously, his glaring weakness is his shooting, but he is so gifted that he can make up for it in other ways. ... Ben’s ability at both ends of the floor is unique and he is a special, special player.”

Tobias Harris was not voted an All-Star, despite being the Sixers’ leader and the team’s second-leading scorer behind Embiid. Harris was averaging 19.4 points heading into Thursday night.

James, of the Lakers (Western Conference), and Bucks power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo (Eastern Conference) led the 10 starters chosen in voting by fans, players, and a panel of reporters.

James and Antetokoumpo will serve as team captains after finishing as the top vote-getters in their conferences. The captains will select the rosters from the starters and reserves on Feb. 6. Each captain must pick four players from the other eight starters.

The All-Star Game will have a different format this year, as Team LeBron and Team Giannis will compete to win each of the first three quarters. All of those quarters will start with a score of 0-0 and will be the normal 12 minutes long. The game clock will be turned off at the beginning of the fourth quarter and a final target score will be set.

The league announced the new format Thursday as a way to increase the level of competition throughout the game and provide added excitement at the end. The NBA also wanted to make the outcome of every quarter count for charity.

An organization selected by the winner of each of the first three quarters will receive $100,000. The winning team will earn $200,000 for its community organization.