{"id":117624,"date":"2025-01-13T09:32:55","date_gmt":"2025-01-13T14:32:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=117624"},"modified":"2025-01-13T09:32:55","modified_gmt":"2025-01-13T14:32:55","slug":"simons-back-portlands-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/01\/13\/simons-back-portlands-star\/","title":{"rendered":"Simons is Back to His Best as Portland’s Star and What It Means"},"content":{"rendered":"

Anfernee Simons<\/a> has been a mainstay on the Blazers roster since 2018. Most people saw him as Portland’s star in the long term. Over the past few seasons, big changes have thrown a wrench into him being the face of the Blazers’ future.<\/p>\n

Simons is Back to His Best as Portland’s Star and What It Means<\/h2>\n

Over the Portland Trail Blazers’ past eight games, Anfernee Simons has been on a tear. He has averaged 25.1 points and 5.8 assists with a true shooting percentage of 64. Simons has made 39 three-pointers, which tops the league<\/a> during that span.<\/p>\n

This is a fantastic stretch for Simons because he has struggled in the 2024-25 season. He went from averaging 22.6 points and 5.5 assists in the 2023-24 season to only 17 points and 4.8 assists prior to his eight-game run. It has been a down year for Simons due to the Blazers’ poor play on the court and the constant trade rumors<\/a>. However, he is playing at a high level again, which could be pivotal for his future with the franchise.<\/p>\n

Everyone Knew Simons Was Portland’s Star After the Lillard Era<\/h3>\n

The Trail Blazers were a perennial playoff team during the 2010s and the early 2020s. That is largely due to Damian Lillard’s<\/a> excellence as a franchise player. He was the perfect point guard for Rip City because he was a superb playmaker, but an even better scorer. Dame’s leadership was crucial to the Blazers’ success, but the weight of carrying the team gradually broke the camel’s back.<\/p>\n

In 2018, Lillard became the mentor to the young Simons<\/a>, who was only 19 years old. During their five seasons together, Lillard was always in Simon\u2019s\u2019 ear. They finally became backcourt partners midway through the 2021-22 season after Portland dealt CJ McCollum<\/a>. Simons grew into his own as an off-ball scorer and grew as an on-ball creator for the Blazers roster.<\/p>\n

That led to more people seeing him as the natural successor, especially with the likelihood of Lillard asking out. Lillard finally asked out in the 2023 offseason, leading to a trade to the Milwaukee Bucks<\/a>. This opened the door for Simons to take the reins as Portland’s star, but he has competition with Scoot Henderson<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Anfernee Simons on the impact of Dame. Full episode drops tomorrow. This convo is \ud83d\udd25 pic.twitter.com\/otBkW0uuLC<\/a><\/p>\n

— JJ Redick (@jj_redick) January 11, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n