For a player with such an impressive vertical, there’s a surprisingly scant amount of video footage of Anfernee Simons dunking. It’s usually a memorable viewing experience when it happens, but through 61 games over the course of two seasons, the 6-3 sophomore out of IMG Academy has only logged 10 dunks, which feels almost deprivational considering the way his teammates have described some of the things they've seen him do since arriving in Portland.
"There’s athleticism, there’s elite athleticism," said Damian Lillard. "And then there’s what (Simons) can do."
But after building mystic for the last year and a half, Simons says he's ready to show the world what he can do in the air. Despite being a quiet, reserved 20 year old, Simons says he'd like the opportunity to introduce himself to the broader NBA community by being invited to compete in the AT&T Slam Dunk Contest at the 2020 NBA All-Star Weekend in Chicago.
"It would be a good opportunity," said Simons of his interest in competed at the All-Star Saturday Night event. "It would be fun, especially a time for me to get my name out there and show what I can do. I don't think a lot of people know that I can jump pretty high."
While Simons has already started to build a reputation as a dynamic scorer, his bonafides as a dunker are still mostly the stuff of legend. Part of that is due to the fact he played sparingly his rookie season, and even now that's he's a regular fixture of Portland's rotation, he's much more likely to take a catch-and-shoot three or lob a floater in the restricted area than he is to throw one down.
Even out of the public eye, Simons has been loathe to show off his vertical, leading to a number of surprised reactions from his teammates when he put on an impromptu dunk contest of his own after a practice in Dallas last season.
But with his playing time significantly increased this year, Simons has taken the opportunity on a few occasions to make ease of his ample physical gifts, something he says he probably needs to do more of, both in games and exhibitions.
"People saw that dunk in the Miami game and that kind of opened up some minds," said Simons. "I never really bring out my athleticism, which I think I should sometimes, a lot of times. But I'm learning how to use it. If I get invited to the dunk contest it's going to be fun, I'm willing to do it 100 percent."
On top of Simons' own willingness, his teammates and coaches are hoping "Ant" will have the chance to compete at the event, scheduled to take place on February 15 at the United Center in Chicago.
"I would love for him to have the opportunity to do that," said head coach Terry Stotts. "I think he'd be really good at it. We know about him. I don't know how the league decides who is in different contests, but I think Anfernee would be an exciting contestant in it."
One of the reasons why those who have seen what Simons can do are enthusiastic about his prospects despite his rare public displays of dunking due to the way he jumps. Listed at 6-3, 181 pounds, Simons isn't a rare physical specimen, at least at first glance. But it's his ability to get off the ground effortlessly more than makes up for his lack of size, so much so that there's a common phrase often used by teammates referring to Simons' vertical: Anferee doesn't jump, he floats.
"Skinny guy that floats," said Simons on how he would describe his dunking style. "A lot of people want to see guys who aren't the tallest, skinny but able to jump out the gym, kind of float in the air, like Ja Morant. He's able to float. People like to see that."
Simons is hoping the NBA will see it that way as well. But as he waits to hear from the league, he's already started working on what his performance might look like.
"I'm not the most acrobatic person where I can just do two legs, behind-the-back real quick and all that stuff," said Simons, who has been watching videos of professional dunkers on YouTube and Instagram in order to get some ideas. "But I can jump, sit there for a second and do my thing. I think I can get pretty high doing that.
"I've got like two dunks in the bag right now. Other than that, if I do get invited, I'm going to start brainstorming and see what it do."