The Curious Case of Ben Simmons

The mysterious rise and fall of Ben Simmons. Can he bounce back?

Follow Nonstop

Imagery supplied by Getty Images

[noz]

It's pretty clear Ben doesn't care about basketball. To not improve is one thing (Giannis has never developed a jump shot in his career) but to not even attempt to shoot in game when your coaches and teammates are begging you to do it is just crazy. There were questions about his work ethic going back to LSU. The whole Phili offense was predicated around his inability and unwillingness to shoot - even Embiid became a stretch 3 point shooter just to space the floor for him and he still trashed the 76ers on his way out the door because they started treating him like a man instead of the spoilt baby he is. Ben got what he wanted millions of dollars, cars, girls and a socialite life and that's all he wants at this point to live the life of an NBA player without having to play basketball.

[Hains]

Simmons needs to give Donovan his ROY award back😂

[GinoGabriel-tc]

The MAIN issue about Ben for me isn't his lack of shooting, it's his attitude on dealing with the criticism and all the backlash he got after he messed up Game 7 vs the Hawks. Instead of motivating himself and taking in all the negativity and turning it into a positive to push himself to get better he instead pouted and deliberately did not want to play with the 76rs anymore. He should've at least given his all to improve his game (which he should since he's getting paid millions of dollars anyway). Instead of acting the way he did.

[jsnike]

The saying “hard work beats talent, when talent fails to work hard” could not be any truer for Ben Simmons.
Dude has all the natural talent in the world to be a top 5 player RIGHT NOW in the NBA, yet he doesn’t want to work hard at all. Literally what Jokic is doing rn, that very well could be Ben Simmons plus his elite (or use to be) defense.

[cim]

The remarkable things is that Markelle Fultz is playing his career best. Most minutes, points, assists, starts, etc. He might not ever be an allstar but hey as least he contributes positively, played 60 games last season and costs half as much as Simmons.

[StarBlast]

I’d really wondered how he fizzled out. It came down to:
-Defenses figuring him out
-Not evolving his game
-Couldn’t shoot, eating at his confidence
-Defenses exploiting his bad free throw shooting, so he wouldn’t drive, destroying his confidence
-Destroyed confidence creating bad mental health
-Some injuries

Despite all this, he could still be a decent role player, focusing on defense and passing, but he won’t make anywhere near the money or minutes he used to.

[Richxwolf]

He is the definition of having all the talent, the skills and everything, but not loving the game bro is blessed and gifted for it. The game chose him but he didn't. 5'8 Isaiah Thomas. 6'3 skinny steph curry had a fraction of his skills in the beginning, but showed the love. Broo is a disappointment.

[bigbearkat]

What really annoys me more than anything about him is that whenever he meets an obstacle in his game, be it his jump shot, his free throws, his mental toughness, he just seems utterly disinterested in fixing it.

[baldericstories]

I think Simmons' greatest obstacle is not his injuries, or his shooting skills, but his mentality.

He totally lost all motivation to play the game that he loved.

[igotclampsonhof]

When coach said we have to shoot better as a unit Ben Simmons took that to heart

[bedstuy_l]

His accountability is the worst part of this whole mess. He used the very serious issue that is gaining more and more awareness every day that is mental health as a shield from his flaws on the basketball court, and even after he was traded still had the audacity to sue the 76ers organization as if they owed him any of that money they withheld. Easily one of the worst #1 picks this century, I don’t give a fuck if he made 3 All Star teams or however many all defensive teams because he couldn’t even replicate half of that production in the playoffs. If he was even a fourth as productive in the playoffs as in his best years regular season wise then this bust talk would not be a discussion.

[damianclark]

Refused to even play for Australia in the FIBA World Cup. Says a lot about the guy.

[DonLee]

Gotta give credit to the guy. He's played some very decent games for someone who doesn't have a spine. He cares about the money, the supercars, the flashy watches, more than he cares about training, practicing and doing what he's paid for.

[wayothefro]

For me, the worst part about Ben is that he isn't like most busts who failed simply because their skills/talent didn't transfer to the NBA, what he had worked and made an impact worthy of his draft spot. From his scoring to his defense to his playmaking, it all worked but what he didn't have was a jumper and while that was a huge hole in his game that was something he could work on just like many other players have but he just didn't. He let that hole in his game continue to expand as opposing teams took advantage of it which led to his confidence diminishing, which then led to the things that he was good at also diminishing, and caused the current situation of him being a complete liability to any team he's on. It's a damn shame to see such talent go to waste.

[masilomoshesh]

Its crazy that the 76ers tanked with a 10–72 record for this man. Trust the process my ass.

[Floatup]

I seen this video about 50 times. I swear every NBA youtuber made their own version of this but for some reason I keep clicking and watch them all lmao.

[jacobrichardson]

he quit on lsu, he quit on australia, he quit on philly, and he’s currently quiting on the nets

[wafimah]

Ben Simmon’s dismissal one season @LSU provided all what we needed to know about his NBA career.

[ciaojay]

Back injuries are the worst imo. Yea you can still play but the lingering fear of it hurting again will eat away your confidence

[lashgoshotwheels]

it's the injuries mental health and a broken heart. I know how he feels.