It finally happened. After years of torment, hesitancy and ridicule, Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons made the first 3-pointer of his career on Wednesday night against the New York Knicks.

This has been a long time coming for the Sixers star. He had taken — and missed — just 17 3-pointers in his first two seasons in the NBA, but he had yet to attempt a single trey on the new season before Wednesday night.

Simmons appeared to show some comfort with the perimeter shot during the preseason, but he reverted to tentativeness even as teams have packed the paint against the Sixers.

Could this be the spark that Simmons needed to display some more confidence?

Simmons acknowledged that he was not a great shooter by working out multiple times per day during the offseason, but he also suggested prior to the start of the season that he is not going to revolutionize his game.

“It's not that I don't need to do it,” Simmons said this preseason when asked about his lack of shooting, via Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “I'm confident in saying I'm not a great shooter. I'm getting better, though.”

Perhaps this is nothing more than a blip on the radar. Then again, Simmons has been uncharacteristically passive as of late. Maybe this will give him more confidence.

Regardless, it must be a gigantic sigh of relief for Simmons.