In Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals, Giannis Antetokounmpo took John Collins hard to the baseline with 3:33 remaining in the second quarter. He was fouled on his dunk attempt, leading to a couple of free throws with his team down four.

The two-time MVP walked up to the stripe and proceeded to miss the rim entirely:

This video clip got a lot of play on Twitter. How embarrassing, right? A professional basketball player! Totally missing the rim on a free throw!

And then you look at the box score at the end of the game and Giannis finished with 33 points on 13-21 shooting. He added 11 rebounds, four assists, and two steals. He was a +6 on the evening as Milwaukee took Game 3 to go up 2-1 in the Eastern Conference Finals. He only shot 6-13 from the foul line, but decided to stay aggressive and keep attacking anyway.

That’s what the Sixers needed from Ben Simmons in their Atlanta series, and they didn’t get it.

Everybody makes this Simmons/Giannis comparison, and it’s mostly reasonable. Both guys are gifted with incredible athleticism and the ability to get downhill and attack the rim. They’ve already won myriad NBA honors and have incredibly high ceilings. The only true weakness in their game is shooting, be it from the field or the foul line.

The difference is that after an air ball like that, Giannis doesn’t give a shit. He even air balled his second shot of the second half, which was a three pointer:

After that air ball, Giannis went on to shoot 6-8 the rest of the way. He took his next four shots in the paint, hit a three, and then took Clint Capela off the dribble for a bucket. And with Khris Middleton getting hot in the fourth, Giannis deferred but contributed when necessary, with two short fadeaway jumpers on the edge of the key, which are shots we’ve seen Simmons hit before. Years ago.

The point is that Giannis is never lacking for confidence. This guy went out and shot two air balls last night, one from the three point line and one from foul line, and it didn’t matter. He kept playing. He kept attacking the rim. He shot 13 free throws on the night and four after the air ball. He was only 6-13 from the stripe but shot 68.5% from there in the regular season and was 75% in games one and two of the ECF.

We can sit here and argue about Giannis and his shot selection and ask whether any of it makes sense, and no, a lot of it does not make sense. The guy is a 30% three point shooter. The analytics would tell you that he shouldn’t try any threes at all, and should stay away from the midrange as well. But again, he’s willing to try things that Ben just won’t. Whatever mental block Simmons has, Giannis does not. He never stops playing his game. He attacks downhill. He goes to the rim. He’ll embrace contact and get to the line. If you have to live with some shitty, low-percentage and analytically-poor looks as part of the totality of the experience, then it’s a sacrifice you’re generally willing to make. Even if he never becomes a legit three-point shooter, the willingness to do it keeps the other parts of his game loose and keeps him mentally in a good place.

You can say that Milwaukee builds around Giannis to maximize his potential, which is certainly true. Ben Simmons doesn’t have the benefit of 20+ field goal attempts per game to fire up the looks that Giannis does, but it’s not like the Sixers were broken this year. Simmons and Joel Embiid need to be surrounded with shooters, which they were. It’s not going to get much better than 2021, schematically, than what Daryl Morey was able to do this year. Maybe if Ben is traded and a team makes him the focal point, then we’ll get the video evidence we need to see if unlocking his true potential is building strictly around him, with a stretch five who can space the floor (i.e. not second unit Dwight Howard). Doc Rivers’ offense played mostly through Joel Embiid this year, and with Tobias Harris and Seth Curry on the floor, Ben was often the fourth option, which is understandable. Problem is, there were plenty of nights and plenty of individual half court possessions where he was capable of acting like the second option (and was paid like a second option) and went passive instead. If you put Simmons in that Milwaukee starting lineup, he’d be in a better position schematically, but he still has the same brain, right?

It’s frustrating to watch, but maybe there’s some hope there. Development doesn’t happen on a linear curve. We like to think that guys become a little bit better each year, but Giannis really didn’t explode until his 4th and 5th NBA seasons, at age 22 and 23. Maybe something “clicks” for Ben at some point, but mentally, you have to wonder if he has ‘it’ or not, and if he ever will.