Simmons vows to end 'Hack-a-Ben': 'I'm not scared to take free throws'

Washington Wizards coach Scott Brooks might have found the one weakness in Ben Simmons' game.

Desperate for answers with his team down 24 in the fourth quarter Wednesday, Brooks directed his players to intentionally foul Simmons, but his Philadelphia 76ers counterpart Brett Brown didn't budge.

Brown kept Simmons in the game, and the rookie went on to set an NBA record for most free-throw attempts in a single quarter, sinking 12 out of 24. Brooks used this strategy right until the last-two-minute rule came into effect, while the Sixers held on for a 118-113 win.

Simmons vowed that the gimmick won't be effective going forward, as he promised to improve his free-throw shooting following a 15-of-29 night from the line.

"I'm not scared to take free throws," Simmons told reporters after the game. "It’s not going to happen for that much longer. You know I’m going to knock them down."

For everything that Simmons excels at, his shooting range remains limited. He doesn't take perimeter shots despite being a perimeter player, and has made just 55.4 percent of his attempts from the charity stripe this season.

However, hitting freebies was not something Simmons struggled with in college, where he shot a respectable 67 percent on nine attempts per game. If he can make two-thirds of his foul shots moving forward, it would be too efficient for the intentional-fouling strategy to be deployed effectively.