Jonathon Simmons has something new to prove: Can he do it again?

Jonathon Simmons has overcome a lot in his short NBA career. Now comes one of his tougher challenges. Matching a stellar season and doing it again.

Jonathon Simmons’ career has been one full of doubt.

Coming out of Houston as an undrafted rookie, there was doubt where he could play. So he too a G-League tryout, paying his way into the league and making the team. Then came the doubts of whether he could perform at that level. He did enough to earn the attention of the San Antonio Spurs.

With the Spurs, Simmons had to prove he could play a role and earn his keep in the league. Despite some push and pull from the ball-dominant guard, Simmons did that. Earning a spot in the rotation and shining when it became his turn to star.

As he entered free agency, the offers did not come as anyone expected. The Orlando Magic picked him up on what many considered to be a bargain three-year, $18-million contract. That third year was nonguaranteed. This would be another place where Simmons would have to prove himself again.

This time he would have to prove he could take on a larger role — possibly as a starter and almost certainly as this growing team’s sixth man.

It is safe to say in his first year in Orlando, he proved he could shoulder that load.

His numbers went up across the board with his increase in minutes — averaging 13.9 points per game and shooting a 51.1 percent effective field goal percentage. Per 36 minutes, his scoring average jumped from 12.5 points to 17.1 points per 36 minutes despite playing far more minutes than he ever had before.

His career-high in minutes played for a season before last season was 1,392 in 2016. He had played only 2,205 minutes his entire career before the 2017 season. He played in 2,029 minutes last season.

He started just 10 games last season. And then 52 in 2017.

Simmons had arrived. He established himself as everything the Magic could hope for and more production wise. Simmons increased his scoring, including some deadly scoring games like the 34-point outburst against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and showed he could make it.

That leaves the next question for Simmons: Can he do it again?

Simmons has never entered a season in his career with the kind of security he surely has with the Magic now. He will compete for a starting spot — do not expect Jonathon Simmons to cede that starting small forward spot to Jonathan Isaac so quickly, even if that feels inevitable and proper. He will be the team’s sixth man at the very worst.

The fact Simmons improved his scoring per 36 minutes despite an increased load in minutes is a positive sign for his continued development. He should continue to be a solid scorer. And like so many players on the Magic, it is probably more about finding the proper role to channel those energies.

There is still plenty for Simmons to improve on.

Simmons shot just 33.8 percent from beyond the arc. His 3-point shooting is still a major part of his game he has to evolve. Simmons is a great driver and still improving as a creator. But eventually, teams will have to respect his 3-point shot.

When he gets hot like he did in his two 30-point games last year, Simmons can drain 3-pointers with ease and in bunches. He has that within him.

The other small bit of alarm was how Simmons seemed to slip a bit defensively. He came to the Magic with a strong defensive reputation. But in Orlando, he saw a lot of his defensive numbers drop — his defensive box plus-minus dropped from 0.9 to -1.3 last year and the Magic had a 110.9 defensive rating with Simmons on the floor, the third-worst mark on the team.

How much of Simmons’ defensive slippage has to do with the team’s poor performance. Defense is notoriously tricky to measure. But even to the eye, Simmons did not make the defensive impact everyone expected or that his reputation suggested.

It makes finding his next steps — and whether he can have an encore and keep growing — all the more difficult.

The 28-year-old guard has a career arc that is unlike anyone else in the league. Typically a player of his age is entering his prime and at the peak of his career. Simmons certainly is that. But he is also someone who is still establishing himself as a consistent role player.

And that makes his future all the more difficult to predict.

Basketball-Reference’s Similarity Scores — which relies on win shares — compares him favorably to Devin Booker, Iman Shumpert, Gordan Giricek and Evan Turner. Booker, who is at the beginning of his career, is the only outlier in that group. The other players do not exactly impress.

Orlando Magic

FiveThirtyEight’s CARMELO Rating system, which relies on wins above replacement player, projects Simmons as a “scrub” and compares him to Raja Bell, Marquis Daniels and Maurice Evans.

Neither the win shares metric or wins above replacement player will view any Magic player favorably because of the team’s poor record. It is easy to argue Simmons can and has provided a lot more than a lot of those players, even in his one year in Orlando. And can continue to provide but much more.

But no one could blame anybody for being a bit doubtful. That is what happens when a player has a great year. They ask him to do it again.

Call it another hurdle for Simmons to overcome. Or another piece of doubt he has to break through. He has silenced those doubters before.

Simmons said toward the end of last season that he was feeling the fatigue that came with his increased load. He was playing more minutes than ever before and his body was feeling it. Simmons’ play was up and down.

That was another lesson for Simmons. One that he would need time to work on and improve.

That will be the biggest challenge for him this offseason. The wrist injury that kept him out the final 12 games required surgery. He was in a cast into June.

Simmons is not one to share much of his workout routine on social media. It is unclear if he has been cleared to return to basketball activities. That may put a stop to some of his offseason preparations. It certainly means he had some lost time early in the summer.

But what is another roadblock to Simmons? He has conquered so many in his career. There is no indication this challenge will be any different.