Wingspan: 7'
Standing reach: 8'11"
Simmons has a short wingspan relative to height.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-freakish-advantage-of-nba-all-stars-1455224954
Anyone who has seen Leonardo da Vinci’s sketch of the Vitruvian man knows the average person’s wingspan is roughly equal to his height. NBA players, though, aren’t average people. NBA players have a wingspan-to-height ratio is 1.06 to 1, according to a DraftExpress database of players who were drafted in the last three years, and they’re such a remarkable sample that a ratio of 1.1 to 1 is more common in the league than the ordinary 1 to 1.
Leonard and Green are outliers among the outliers. Green’s wingspan is 1.09 times his height without shoes, and that’s nothing compared to Leonard’s. Leonard turned heads at the NBA draft combine for his hands, which are roughly the size of non-stick pans, but he also had an incredible 7-foot-3 wingspan. His ratio was 1.12 to 1 is the largest of any All-Star in the last 15 years.
Leonard and Green’s heights and wingspans place them in the sweet spot of players who are uniquely suited for the current NBA. In the last five years, as the sport has rewarded teams that play faster and spread the court, many of the most successful teams have embraced small-ball lineups and benched their oafs who couldn’t keep up. Green and Leonard are perfect in this era. They aren’t too big to play on the perimeter, but they aren’t too small to bang in the post. Their wingspans let them clog passing lanes, and their hands allow them to rip down contested rebounds.
In general, the advantage of having a large wingspan is playing bigger compared to your height and versatility. I do find Simmons unique, because despite of his short wingspan his 6'10 height and 9' reach are elite for SF and is good for the popular tweener PFs nowadays. Then we all know that Simmons is also versatile enough that he can generate steals (wing trait) and rebound (big man trait).
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I notice how Simmons has effort issues on defense. They have all the usual excuse like staying out of foul trouble and etc. But could it be because of his elite height and short wingspan is limiting him to move side to side on defense? On eyetest, he seems too upright (see Nate duncan's podcast on simmons) and is elite in moving straight. So that might explain his steals numbers which I guess would be generating through interception than on ball defense/reach. Could his lack of wingspan length limit him from being a good defender at the wing position? The way I see it, he could be good at challenging shots because of his vertical length, but he might have trouble moving laterals because of the combination of his height + short wingspan.
Simmons is versatile. He can play big at the SF position. But he lacks that star trait of good height to wingspan ratio. What are the pros and cons of his unique measurement?
