San Antonio Spurs: Jonathon Simmons A Winter Hit, Too

The San Antonio Spurs’ optimization of all available resources serves as an integral ingredient to their unparalleled run of success, and Jonathon Simmons is just the latest fruit of their nurturing labor.

By now, it’s no secret the San Antonio Spurs are having a historical season.

Please do not give me “the flying under the radar” spiel — the entire league, and its accompanying media, knows what a destructive force the 2015-16 Spurs are.

Not only are they undefeated during the incumbent calendar year, the team boasts a league-best plus-15.3 net rating and a SRS of 13.7 — which would go down as the best mark ever in NBA history if the season were to end today.

In other words, the Spurs are not just winning, they’re absolutely murdering teams.

Spurs already have 12 wins by 25+ pts -- two more than any San Antonio SEASON; most in NBA history through 43 games. pic.twitter.com/WCCmGUfWFG
— ESPN (@espn) January 22, 2016

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With so many meaningless fourth quarters, the less-renowned cast of the Spurs have been given a chance to strut their stuff. Sure enough, their resident giant, Boban Marjanovic, has taken the Internet by storm over the recent months — absolutely dominating and demoralizing opponents with his unforeseen predilection of charm.

But amidst all the viral Vines of the 7’3″ behemoth swallowing up the average man’s hands with his oven-sized mitts, and his internal dilemma of whether to stare down his opponent or console him with a tender hug after overpowering them for a dunk, another gem has flown relatively unnoticed during San Antonio’s avalanche of noncompetitive routes.

Jonathon Simmons, an undrafted rookie out of the University of Houston, seemed destined to embark on the path of a basketball journeyman. After failing to be drafted in 2012, Simmons would take his talents to the American Basketball League (ABL), where he averaged a mind-numbing 36.5 points per game in 16 contests.

In September 2013, however, the Houston native made perhaps the wisest decision of his life when he decided to join the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League. He would play under the Spurs’ developmental affiliate for nearly two seasons, en route to earning a D-League All-Defensive Team distinction in 2015, before he finally received his long awaited shot at the big leagues.

More explicitly, his opportunity would arise this summer, when the 6’6″ athletic dynamo joined the Spurs’ summer league squad in Las Vegas. He would routinely wow the capacity crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center day after day, showcasing his highly sought-after concoction of elite explosiveness and unrelenting motor.

Simmons would cap his summer off with an exclamation mark, dropping a game-high 23 points during the championship game as he went on to earn game MVP honors.

Not surprisingly, Simmons would sign with the Spurs just a mere two days later.

As the season commenced, however, it was hard to envision where Simmons would fit in San Antonio’s rotation. Ladened with battle-tested veterans, he faced an uphill battle in earning material playing time. In fact, he was inactive for the first five games of the year.

But, as the current campaign has worn on, and the blowout victories continue to pile up, Simmons has been given another highly-treasured opportunity to perform; this time on an NBA stage.

Thus far, he has yet to disappoint.

Simmons is simply a highlight reel waiting to happen — a ball of energy on a ticking time bomb waiting to erupt at a moment’s notice.

His inexorable and unyielding nature has been infectious on the Spurs’ second unit; recently leapfrogging Kyle Anderson — the team’s first-round draft pick of 2014 — on the team’s unofficial depth chart.

For the year, Simmons is averaging 16.7 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists per 36 minutes on an ultra-efficient 63.5 percent TS% (true shooting percentage) and an individual net rating of plus-14 — not bad for fringe NBA player.

Did the Spurs luck themselves into another gem? Or do they simply optimize their available resources in an incomparable manner?

Next: Less Is More In the Modern NBA

San Antonio has once again proven the importance of having a D-League affiliate, and the significance of effectively evaluating talent with transferable skills in a semi-professional setting like the NBA Summer League.

Yes, the rich just got a little bit richer — and the Jonathon Simmons hype is only beginning.

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Jonathon Simmons Justifying The Importance Of Summer League

By Aaron Mah | Jan 23, 2016

The San Antonio Spurs’ optimization of all available resources serves as an integral ingredient to their unparalleled run of success, and Jonathon Simmons is just the latest fruit of their nurturing labor.