The Quick & Roll: From fresh-faced to fresh ink, Anfernee Simons is all grown up

You don’t have to look closely to notice the changes in Trail Blazers guard Anfernee Simons this season.

His frame is more sturdy. His role — once almost exclusively a shooter — has morphed into being almost exclusively a point guard. And, the fresh-faced kid with no markings on his body now has a full sleeve of tattoos on his left arm.

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The Blazers’ baby is no longer.

“I was like man, this dude growing up,” Damian Lillard said with a chuckle. “He was like 15 when he came here, now he got tattoos, he got a Hummer … .”

He never went to college and was drafted out of IMG Academy at age 18 with the 24th overall pick in the 2018 draft. It’s an easy thing to joke about around the Blazers — how Simons, who is now 22 — no longer looks or carries himself like the kid of the group. But there’s something, too, behind the playful ribbing. To those around him, it is evident Simons is blossoming, both in his career and his personality. His tattoos are just the latest and most visible example.

“It’s crazy, because the people who have been here have literally seen me grow up, and like, turn into an adult,” Simons said. “Even the people around me tell me, ‘Man, you’ve come a long way. A looong way. You becoming a man now.’ ”

Simons said he was often questioned by teammates why he didn’t have tattoos, and he always insisted it wasn’t for him. Truthfully, he said he always imagined getting inked up but never knew what to put on his body.

“It had to mean something to me now, and when I’m 60, and old and wrinkly,” Simons said. “So I tried to think about that. I couldn’t be having no crazy, young-guy stuff on there.”

He decided to dedicate his left arm to artwork that depicted what was important to him. His hometown — Altamonte Springs, Fla. — is etched in cursive underneath the city’s skyline, which includes palm trees, and the famous Orlando Eye Ferris wheel. It stretches from his wrist to his elbow on the back of his forearm. It was his first, and favorite, tattoo.

The tattoo that means the most to him is on the inside of his forearm. It is his family tree, complete with branches that signify each family member — mother Tameka, father Charles and older sister Kadijah. He left room for the tree to expand near his elbow, where in the future branches can be etched for when he has children.

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Underneath the roots of the family tree is a Bible verse (Jeremiah 29:11) that he says is a favorite of his and his family. It reads:

“I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

“That’s the foundation of who I am and what my family stands for,” Simons said.

There is a street sign of Ford Avenue in Altamonte Springs, which is where his grandmother lived. He says he spent much of his youth at his grandmother’s home. And the tattoo that hurt the most — a shaded sign of Sanlando Park — pays homage to the basketball courts where his career started.

“It’s kind of a famous park, a lot of pros used to play pickup there, my dad used to play pickup there, and I started playing there,” Simons said.

On his shoulder and upper arm he again pays tribute to his faith, with God’s hands and the holy cross, and when he went to Los Angeles for Lillard’s wedding, he stopped for what was his last tattoo of the summer: On the inside of his biceps, he put Stay humble/ Stay hungry.

“That’s something my mom has told me since I was little,” Simons said.

Today, he is no longer Little Ant — the nickname his mom gave him as a kid. After playing at 190 pounds last season, he is up to 196 pounds, which has intensified his pleas to NBA.com to update his weight from the 181 of his rookie season.

“Ugh. I’ve been trying to get them to change that on the NBA website,” Simons said. “One eighty-one? Come on.”

If the league hasn’t taken notice of his changes, his teammates certainly have. It was hard not to when he first walked into the gym, his left arm covered in tattoos.

“I mean, I knew it was coming because he talked about it toward the end of last season,” Robert Covington said. “But … it was a lot. So it didn’t surprise me, but damn, I thought he was going to do something subtle. He did the whole sleeve! So I was like, ‘OK. Welcome to the crew.’ ”

Up next is his right arm, but that will have to wait until after this season. Simons says his right arm will feature more portraits, including Black leaders such as Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Muhammad Ali.

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By then, the hope is that Simons has established himself as an NBA point guard. Judging from the early days of training camp, and the first preseason game — when he had 10 points, six assists and zero turnovers — he is making noticeable strides.

Almost as noticeable as his body art.

“Nobody expected me to get tattoos,” Simons said, chuckling. “They just thought I was this little kid. Nobody expected me to go all out.”

But he did, which is another reminder of how much that teenager who came to Portland four years ago, all baby-faced and shy, has grown up.

“Just seeing the change, it’s funny to watch,” Lillard said. “It makes me feel old.”

Numbers game

On Aug. 2, Covington was at his home in Nashville, Tenn. when he had a rush of mixed emotions. He read on his phone that his teammate, Zach Collins, was leaving Portland and signing a free-agent deal with San Antonio. He hated seeing Collins go.

But it took not even an instant to realize that this was an opportunity: No. 33 on the Blazers would now be available.

“As soon as I saw it on my phone, I texted (assistant equipment manager) Eli (Murray) and said, ‘You know what time it is!’ ” Covington said. “And he was like, ‘I already know … let me say something to (equipment manager) Eric (Hallman).”

See, No. 33 means something to Covington. It’s the number he has worn on every team he has been on since his junior year at Proviso West High School in Hillside, Ill. He wore 33 because he idolized Scottie Pippen, the Hall of Fame, do-it-all forward for the Chicago Bulls, and later, the Trail Blazers.

But when Covington was traded to the Blazers in November 2020, Collins occupied No. 33, forcing Covington to wear No. 23 last season.

So when the news broke that Collins was leaving, Covington pounced at the opportunity. This season, he will return to wearing No. 33.

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“I was like, ‘Ka-ching,’ ” Covington said, mimicking pulling down a slot machine handle.

This time, wearing No. 33 means a little more. It’s the same jersey Pippen wore when he played with the Blazers from 1999-2003.

“It’s crazy that he played here and I get to wear the same number as him,” Covington said. “He’s the guy I emulated. That was my nickname in high school — ‘Pip’ — and I’ve worn his number since my junior year in high school.”

What Covington admired so much in Pippen was the array in which he impacted the game. He could score, defend, pass, rebound.

“He did the little things, just an amazing player,” Covington said. “And it’s those little things that I try to emulate. That’s why if you look at my box scores, I can score 30, I can score 10, I can score 0 … I don’t care. I just want to win, and as long as I make an impact on the game, that’s all that matters.”

That summed up Covington in his first season in Portland. His statistics don’t jump off the page — 8.5 points, 6.7 rebounds, 37.9 percent on 3-pointers — but anybody who watched the Blazers last season could vouch for his value. He led the Blazers in blocks and steals and was second in the NBA with 3.5 deflections per game. On a team that struggled mightily with defense, Covington was a constant disruptor.

“I knew once I got here what my role was,” Covington said. “It wasn’t to score 30 or be a go-to guy. It’s like when I was younger, people told me I should be more selfish, but I told them that’s just not me. I want to do the right thing to help my team win. Doing the right thing adds up.”

And this season, Covington hopes he has the same do-it-all impact while having a different look: No. 33.

‘Money like that’

My favorite scene from the week comes from Monday’s preseason opener when something happened that neither I nor CJ McCollum have ever encountered in our years around the NBA.

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Fans are not allowed into the building on a game night until 90 minutes before tip, so it’s not often that Blazers fans get to watch Lillard or McCollum go through their pregame routine. Both are among the earliest to get up their shots, with McCollum starting around 5 and ending around 5:20 or 5:25 p.m.

So it was odd on Monday during McCollum’s shooting routine to hear a thundering voice from up in the stands, counting off his makes. It started when McCollum began his around-the-world shooting routine outside the 3-point arc.

“Money like that! One! … Money like that! Two! … Money like that! Three!” … The voice followed every shot, and believe me, every person in the arena heard it, even above the in-house music being played.

When McCollum reached seven consecutive makes, he couldn’t contain his laughter. He looked far up in the stands and gave a nod before returning to his next shot.

“Money like that! Eight! … Money like that! Nine! … Money like that! Ten!”

“I heard something and I was thinking — they let fans in already?” McCollum said. “Because I shoot so early — I workout at 5 — and I could have sworn they said doors open at 5:30. So I was like, who was in the building? Somebody snuck in? Because I mean, he was LOUD.”

The bellowing voice was Wesley Bennett, a 55-year-old concession worker for Sizzle Pie pizza who thought he would catch some live action before his shift started.

“I watch these guys every once in a while on TV, and you see them hit shots, but did you see that? He couldn’t miss,” Bennett said. “I mean, that’s not normal right?”

McCollum’s consecutive streak ended at 10, but he finished his routine making 24 of 26.

“It was my whole workout, 20 minutes, him yelling, encouraging, screaming,” McCollum said. “I’m trying to like work on my game and get better and get ready for this preseason game and he is yelling, counting my makes … 10 out of 10, 10 out of 11 … and I was like, I shoot a lot, is he going to keep count?”

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Bennett gained more steam when McCollum looked up at him around shot seven.

“He looked up twice, then bam! … bam! … bam! … he couldn’t miss,” Bennett said.

For McCollum, it was a perfect experience to acclimate him to fans being back at the Moda Center after playing in front of a mostly empty arena last season.

“I thought it was cool. I liked it. I thought it was funny,” McCollum said. “I didn’t mind it at all, because I’m a fan too. So like, I understand it. I get excited when I go to other sporting events — even when I watch basketball. And like, the casual, average fan doesn’t understand how good players are. Players who may not play are still very good. And the players who do play are good, and they don’t miss a lot in a closed gym with nobody guarding them.”

Bennett, who had his white apron clenched in his hand as he stationed himself beside the bank of television cameras about 25 rows up from the court, took no mind to the stares fixed on him from the court.

“I didn’t care what anyone was thinking,” Bennett said. “I thought what the heck, might as well support our guys.”

In the game, McCollum hit 5 of 10 from the field, including 2 of 4 from 3, finishing with 12 points in 11 minutes. There’s no telling if Bennett will be back barking ‘Money like that!’ for the Oct. 11 preseason game, but McCollum wouldn’t mind.

“I don’t think I’ve ever heard that before, but I enjoyed it,” McCollum said. “And I like Sizzle Pie.”

Questions of the week

As always, feel free to ask me questions via email ([email protected]) or Twitter (@jwquick). This week’s questions come via email from Brian Johnson:

With Larry Nance in the fold, do you see him as the primary backup to Nurkic? And what do you see the eight-man rotation looking like?

I think Cody Zeller will be the primary backup to Jusuf Nurkic, but I do think Nance will see a lot of time at center, starting next week during the Blazers’ final three preseason games. Zeller figures to be limited after undergoing surgery to repair his nose, which was broken in the preseason opener when Golden State’s Andre Iguodala inadvertently slammed into his face following a dunk.

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Nance said he came into the league as a center and played extensive minutes there with Cleveland last season, and expects to play there with Portland, perhaps even as a late-game option. Coach Chauncey Billups said he “definitely” envisions Nance playing center and is intrigued by how some of the Blazers’ small-ball lineups can look.

As far as the rotation, I think Billups will start with a nine-man rotation and right now I think it’s clear-cut what that will look like: Lillard, McCollum and Norman Powell starting in the backcourt, and Covington and Nurkic in the frontcourt. Simons, Nance and Zeller will be every game players, leaving the ninth spot open between Nassir Little, Tony Snell and Ben McLemore. Right now, with Snell still yet to practice with a foot injury, it’s safe to pencil in Little as the final piece in the rotation.

(Top photo of Simons: Abbie Parr / Getty Images)

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