Last Updated on August 7, 2026 by Mat Diekhake

Anfernee Simons has emerged as one of the NBA’s more dangerous perimeter scorers, capable of heating up quickly and changing the flow of a game with his shooting range. As his playmaking responsibilities have grown, he has continued to develop into a more complete offensive guard while remaining a constant scoring threat.

Here’s detailed information about Anfernee Simons:

Player Profile

  • Full Name: Anfernee Tyrik Simons
  • Nationality: American
  • Age: Born June 8, 1999
  • Hometown: Altamonte Springs, Florida, USA
  • Height: 6 feet 3 inches (191 cm)
  • Weight: 181 pounds (82 kg)
  • Wingspan: 6 feet 9 inches (206 cm)
  • Shoe Size: 13 (US)
  • Number: 1 (Portland Trail Blazers)
  • Position: Shooting Guard / Point Guard
  • High School:
    • Edgewater High School (Orlando, Florida)
    • IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida)
  • College:
    • Did not attend college, entered the NBA Draft directly after a postgraduate year.
  • NBA Draft:
    • Selected 24th overall in the 2018 NBA Draft by the Portland Trail Blazers
  • Teams Played For:
    • Portland Trail Blazers (2018–Present)
  • Championship Rings: None
  • Kids: No public information about children
  • Siblings: He has one sibling (a younger sister).

Player Archetype / Play Style

Anfernee Simons’s archetype is that of a scoring combo guard: a shot-making perimeter creator who puts pressure on defenses with pull-up range, quick-trigger shooting, and burst off the dribble. Defensively, he fits more as a guard who competes within the scheme and handles smaller backcourt matchups rather than as a stopper against bigger wings or high-contact creators. Offensively, his role centers on spacing the floor, creating off live dribbles, attacking closeouts, and supplying secondary playmaking when the ball is in his hands. At 6’3″ and 200 pounds, Simons has a compact, springy frame with real vertical pop, speed, and balance, and his overall play style is built on three-level scoring, dynamic jump shooting, and instant offense more than physical defense or heavy table-setting.

Scouting Report

Anfernee Simons has always looked most comfortable when the game speeds up to a point where defenders start making decisions instead of dictating them. He doesn’t need much daylight to pull from deep, and that’s what bends a defence before the possession has really developed. A lot of his best work comes from high pick-and-rolls where he’ll snake back into the middle, force the big to hesitate between containing the drive and contesting the jumper, then punish whichever choice comes a fraction late. What stands out to me is that he isn’t simply a difficult shot-maker; he manipulates defenders into creating the difficult shot he actually wants. The trade-off is that his finishing can become inconsistent once longer help defenders meet him at the rim because he prefers avoiding contact rather than powering through it, and there are stretches where the jumper becomes the entire offence. As a passer, he’s better when attacking a tilted floor than when orchestrating every possession from scratch, usually creating passing windows with live-dribble changes of pace instead of seeing advanced reads before they open. Defensively, his limitations show less in isolation than they do navigating physical screens or making low-man rotations on time, where stronger guards can dislodge him and force extra help behind the play. That’s where lineup construction matters. Put him beside a larger secondary creator and multiple defenders capable of covering ground behind aggressive point-of-attack pressure, and his scoring gravity becomes far easier to maximise without asking him to solve every problem. His offensive rhythm and shot profile have always reminded me of CJ McCollum, although Simons hunts threes more aggressively, while there are flashes of Lou Williams in the way he changes gears just enough to freeze defenders before rising into pull-up jumpers. When everything is flowing, he doesn’t just score; he forces defensive coverages to stretch far beyond their comfort zone, and that changes possessions long before the ball ever reaches the rim.

Sources:
NBA.com — Anfernee Simons | Guard | Chicago Bulls | NBA.com
NBA Draft Room — Anfernee Simons
NBADraft.net — Anfernee Simons
Sports Illustrated — 2018 NBA Draft: Anfernee Simons Scouting Report and Highlights
Basketball-Reference — Anfernee Simons Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft Status and more