With Georges Niang now out of the picture and the likes of Amari Williams and Hugo Gonzalez yet to play in an NBA game, Anfernee Simons should have the biggest impact among all Boston Celtics newcomers this season.
Zach Harper of The Athletic revealed his ranking of the NBA’s 40 best shooting guards on Friday and placed Simons 17th on the list. The 26-year-old is in tier 5, along with Stephon Castle (18th) and Devin Vassell (20th) — both of the San Antonio Spurs — as well as Philadelphia 76ers rookie VJ Edgecombe (19th).
Simons’ placement ahead of Castle is notable, as the latter is the reigning Rookie of the Year.
“Tier 5 has four guys I really like and think could be star role players either next season or the season after,” Harper wrote. “Simons could have a brilliant shooting season with Boston. Castle is coming off a Rookie of the Year win but has to fit into the playmaking logjam in San Antonio.”
The Spurs selected Castle with the fourth overall pick during the 2024 NBA Draft. The UConn product finished his first season averaging 14.7 points, 4.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 26.7 minutes per game with a .428/.285/.724 shooting line.
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Simons spent his first seven seasons with the Portland Trail Blazers prior to the July trade that sent him to Boston in exchange for two-time All-Star guard Jrue Holiday. The former 24th overall pick averaged career highs in points (22.6), assists (5.5) and rebounds (3.6) across 46 games during the 2023-24 campaign before his numbers dipped slightly last season.
Simons finished the 2024-25 campaign with 19.3 points, 4.8 assists and 2.7 rebounds per contest across 70 games while posting a .426/.363/.902 shooting line.