Justin Simon

Justin Simon

Simon with Riesen Ludwigsburg in 2022
No. 23–Paris Basketball
Position	Small forward
League	LNB Pro A
Personal information
Born	(1996-05-06) May 6, 1996 (age 27) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight	215 lb (98 kg)
Career information
High school	Temecula Valley (Temecula, California) Brewster Academy (Wolfeboro, New Hampshire)
College	Arizona (2015–2016) St. John's (2017–2019)
NBA draft	2019: undrafted
Playing career	2019–present
Career history
2019–2020	Windy City Bulls
2020–2021	Illawarra Hawks
2021	ratiopharm Ulm
2021–2022	Riesen Ludwigsburg
2022–2023	Sydney Kings
2023	Scaligera Verona
2023–present	Paris Basketball
Career highlights and awards
EuroCup champion (2024) NBL champion (2023) BBL Best Defender (2022) All-Champions League Defensive Team (2022) NBL Defensive Player of the Year (2021) Big East Defensive Player of the Year (2019)
Stats   at Basketball-Reference.com

Justin D'John Simon (born May 6, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Paris Basketball of the LNB Pro A. He played college basketball for St. John's.

High school career

Simon spent the first three years of his high school career at Temecula Valley High School in his hometown of Temecula, California. In his junior season, Simon averaged 17.5 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game, which earned him spots on the all-state underclass and the Division II all-state first teams, in addition to being named the Southwestern League MVP. He also received an invitation to the Men's U-18 National Team training camp.

Simon spent his senior season at Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, where he blossomed into a consensus top-40 national recruit in the class of 2015. In leading the team to a 34–1 record, the NEPSAC Class AAA title and the National Prep Championship, Simon averaged 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game.

Recruiting

Simon finished high school as a four-star recruit and the 37th ranked player in the class of 2015, according to ESPN. ^[1] Simon received over 20 Division I scholarship offers from the likes of Indiana, Kansas, and Louisville, but ended up selecting Arizona.

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes

Name	Hometown	High school / college	Height	Weight	Commit date
Justin Simon G	Temecula, CA	Brewster Academy (NH)	6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)	205 lb (93 kg)	May 6, 2014
	Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A    Rivals:     247Sports:    ESPN grade: 87

College career

Arizona

In his freshman season at Arizona, Simon struggled to find playing time. Early in the season, Simon received an increased amount of minutes due to Allonzo Trier being injured, but his time on the court soon fell off as he failed to see the court in seven of the team's last 11 games. Simon did not start in a game all season and saw action in just 24 contests. In 7.5 minutes per game, Simon averaged 2.3 points and 1.2 rebounds per game.

After the season, Simon announced his intention to transfer. He had interest from several programs, including Oklahoma State, Providence, and New Mexico, but ended up choosing St. John's. ^[2]

St. John's

Simon sat out the 2016-17 season due to NCAA transfer rules.

Simon had a breakout sophomore season, tallying 20 double-digit scoring performances and nine double-doubles in 33 games, all of which he started. He averaged 12.2 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.1 assists, and 2.5 steals per game, and was the only player in the Big East to rank in the top five in rebounding, assists, and steals. Simon ranked eighth nationally in steals with 82. ^[3]

In his junior season, Simon's offensive production declined slightly but he developed into one of the nation's best defenders. In 34 games, 33 of which he started, Simon averaged 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds all while leading the team in blocked shots with 22 and ranking third on the team in steals with 50. After the season, Simon was named Big East Defensive Player of the Year. ^[4]

On April 9, 2019, Simon announced he was forgoing his senior season to declare for the 2019 NBA draft. ^[5]

Statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2015–16	Arizona	24	0	7.5	.500	.333	.429	1.2	.3	.3	.3	2.3
2016–17	St. John's	Redshirt
2017–18	St. John's	33	33	36.1	.473	.417	.661	7.1	5.1	2.5	.8	12.2
2018–19	St. John's	34	33	32.9	.462	.289	.608	5.1	3.2	1.5	.6	10.4
Career		91	66	27.3	.470	.351	.620	4.8	3.1	1.5	.6	8.9

Professional career

Windy City Bulls (2019–2020)

Simon was not selected in the draft, but was invited to play for the Chicago Bulls' Summer League team. In five games, he averaged 6.8 points and four rebounds in 21 minutes per game. ^[6] On September 12, 2019, Simon signed an Exhibit 10 contract with the Bulls and was added to the team's training camp roster. ^[7] On October 21, Simon was waived from the Bulls' roster and was subsequently assigned to the team's G League affiliate, the Windy City Bulls. ^[8] He averaged 12.8 points per game in the G League. ^[9]

Illawarra Hawks (2020–2021)

On August 14, 2020, Simon signed a one-year deal with the Illawarra Hawks of the Australian National Basketball League (NBL). ^[10]

Ratiopharm Ulm (2021)

On August 19, 2021, Simon signed a six-week contract with ratiopharm Ulm of the German Basketball Bundesliga (BBL) as an injury replacement for Karim Jallow. ^[11]

Riesen Ludwigsburg (2021–2022)

On October 3, 2021, Simon signed with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the BBL. ^[12] On May 8, 2022, he helped Riesen finish third in the 2021–22 Basketball Champions League when he recorded 27 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals against Hapoel Holon, becoming the first player in BCL history to record more than 25 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. He also set a new record for points in a BCL Final Four game. ^[13]

Sydney Kings (2022–2023)

On July 18, 2022, Simon signed with the Sydney Kings in Australia for the 2022–23 NBL season. ^[14]

Scaligera Verona (2022–2023)

On March 20, 2023, Simon signed with Scaligera Verona of the LBA. ^[15]

Paris Basketball (2023–present)

On July 18, 2023, Simon signed with Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. ^[16] He terminated his contract with the club on November 19, 2023. ^[17]

On December 1, 2023, he joined Paris Basketball of the LNB Pro A and EuroCup as an injury replacement for Sebastian Herrera. ^[18]

Personal life

Simon's father Ken played football at Fresno State and his mother Felicia played basketball and ran track at UC Irvine. Simon has two brothers and a sister.

References

1. "Justin Simon". espn.com.
2. Borzello, Jeff (April 21, 2016). "Justin Simon transferring to St. John's". ESPN . Retrieved April 23, 2020.
3. Brown, Broadway (July 24, 2018). "2018-19 Big East Men's Basketball Summer Check In: St. John's Red Storm". Anonymous Eagle. SBNation. Retrieved May 29, 2020.
4. Kussoy, Howie (March 11, 2019). "St. John's star Justin Simon rewarded for impressive year". New York Post . Retrieved April 23, 2020.
5. Snider, Ethan (April 10, 2019). "St. John's Justin Simon declares for NBA Draft". Rumble in the Garden. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
6. Miller, Andrew (June 23, 2019). "Chicago Bulls: G Justin Simon solid Summer League addition". Pippen Ain't Easy. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
7. Walton, Michael (September 12, 2019). "Report: Bulls to add Justin Simon on Exhibit 10 contract". NBC Sports Chicago . Retrieved April 23, 2020.
8. Amico, Sam (October 21, 2019). "Bulls waive Doyle, undrafted rookies Simon and Shittu". Amico Hoops. Retrieved April 23, 2020.
9. McGraw, Mike (March 20, 2020). "Season likely over, but Windy City Bulls coach thankful for development". Daily Herald . Retrieved May 29, 2020.
10. "Hawks Sign Second Import Justin Simon". The Hawks . 14 August 2020. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
11. "Defensivspieler des Jahres startet mit ratiopharm ulm in die Saison". ratiopharmulm.com (in German). August 19, 2021. Retrieved August 19, 2021.
12. Skerletic, Dario (October 3, 2021). "MHP Riesen Ludwisburg lands Justin Simon". Sportando. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
13. "MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg down Hapoel U-NET Holon to claim third place". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
14. "Justin Simon Joins Kings". NBL.com.au | NBL. 18 July 2022. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
15. Maggi, Alessandro (March 20, 2023). "Scaligera Verona officially signs Justin Simon". Sportando. Retrieved March 20, 2023.
16. "Justin Simon signed with Bnei Herzliya". BhBasket. July 18, 2023.
17. "Bnei Herzliya signs Adonis Thomas, parts ways with Justin Simon". Sportando. November 19, 2023. Retrieved December 8, 2023.
18. "JUSTIN SIMON, NOUVEAU JOUEUR DU PARIS BASKETBALL". Paris Basketball (in French). December 1, 2023. Retrieved December 1, 2023.

External links

• St. John's Red Storm bio
• Sports Reference Profile
• G League Profile