The Ben Simmons saga remains one of the hottest topics in the NBA. The Philadelphia 76ers disgruntled star has no intention of returning to the team.
He’s made it clear he won’t come back to the franchise this season and has emptied his house to send a strong message. Ever since the Sixers were eliminated in the second round of the 2021 postseason, Simmons became the No. 1 public enemy of the city, with fans and media members blasting the point guard.
Right now, this situation is pretty much Simmons against the world. However, the player has found people who defended him in recent times. For instance, Sixers fan and Philly native Kevin Hart defended the Australian player against the haters, explaining that people overlook his good deeds simply because he’s not a shooter.
Talking on Showtime’s ‘All the Smoke,’ the Hollywood star said:
“Ben Simmons is a f—ing star. Philadelphia, man, we’re a different city. Look, you gotta let players play like they play. Like, he got there by playing how he plays. Now granted, this is a three-shooting time in the NBA. That ain’t Ben! Now because of the media and how they position things, well somehow we forgot about all the good that he did. Wasn’t he an All-Star? Wasn’t he All-Defensive Team?”
Is Kevin Hart speaking facts on Ben Simmons? 🤔
(via @shobasketball)
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) October 8, 2021
The biggest issue for fans is that Simmons tends to vanish come playoff time. The Australian plays excellent during the regular season, but his struggles show up during the playoff.
This has become a major problem for the Sixers, as they want to win a championship with two stars ready to show up for them. Joel Embiid doesn’t have this problem, but things are different with Simmons.
The criticism led Ben to request a trade from the Sixers, and it’s unclear when that will happen. They have plenty of options to deal Simmons, but the franchise wants to get the maximum revenue for the 3x All-Star.
