Several months after his Game 7 collapse in the second round of the 2021 NBA playoff, Ben Simmons is still the talk of the town in the league. This offseason, the point guard is trying to force his way out of Philadelphia to start a new chapter in his career with a different franchise.
This situation has gotten worse by the day, with Simmons making it clear he won’t play another game with the Sixers or attend the upcoming training camp. Even after Joel Embiid and Doc Rivers tried to change his mind, Simmons is set to leave the organization as soon as possible.
Moreover, he refused to meet teammates in Los Angeles, telling them that he won’t change his mind about wanting to be traded. Ben has earned a lot of criticism for his tactics, and some fans have taken this opportunity to blast him while praising other stars.
Recently, one Twitter user compared Simmons to Kyrie Irving, saying that the former is worse than the latter, yet the media insist on making Irving the villain every time they can.
“Ben Simmons is what the media tries to convince you Kyrie Irving is,” ‘Depressed Nets Fan tweeted.
Ben Simmons is what the media tries to convince you Kyrie Irving is
— Depressed Nets Fan (@DepressedNets) September 25, 2021
This sparked a lot of reactions from the community. Plenty of fans defended Simmons, naming the things that make Kyrie a hateful player, while others defended the Brooklyn Nets superstar.
All hes saying is hes done playing for the Sixers. Kyrie? Wanted out of Cleveland, burned the Celtics, gets mad at media and lies when they’re actually right, takes time off whenev over social issues, speaks out about all sorts of things. Kyrie’s antics going on for number of yrs
— 99Hawk (@blackhawk8001) September 25, 2021
Fans were chanting "eff Ben Simmons" and burning his jersey. His coach said he's not sure if he's a starter. the best player on the team was throwing hi munder the bus as if everything was on him. yeah he played bad but the team gotta stick together. so now he wants to leave
— Runthroughthetape (@Runthroughthet1) September 25, 2021
Kyrie takes time off for personal reasons and believes the earth is flat 😂 he does it to himself
— ShaggySquid🌹🦑🇦🇺 (@ShaggySquid) September 25, 2021
they are both exaggerated. Simmons just wants to leave and kyrie wants to just live and not submit to the media
— 𝙵𝚕𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚍𝚊 𝙳𝚊𝚖𝚎🏜 (@Nardo2Flashy) September 25, 2021
Ben Simmons is a conspiracy-driven flat earther incapable of independent critical thought? Hmm. Not sure you’re correct on this one, chief
— Dan Bogosian (@dlbogosian) September 25, 2021
https://twitter.com/CyntHarp/status/1441849056771334145https://twitter.com/bewitness/status/1441863590290599941
He's not. Kyrie suffers from mental health problems. Simmons is just ready to move on.
— George Costanza (@kd6698) September 26, 2021
It’s amazing how disconnected these hot takes are. No one threw him under the bus. Ben is soft af…
— 215GRD (@jclif77) September 25, 2021
You are obsessed with Kyrie stop tweeting about him.
— LeFreeAgent 🔥💨💼 (@IDAIKTco) September 25, 2021
Can’t stop thinking about how Ben gets a pass every time yet Kyrie is the punching bag for no reason
— Gee #NetsWorldSzn (@Gee_NYCee) September 25, 2021
Kyrie literally said he would retire if he got traded… let’s just not make this comparison.
— Pistol Pete⏱ (@PeteOfTheMoment) September 25, 2021
LOOOOL. If Steve nash ever threw kyrie under the bus after a game 7, he’d probably retire.
— free (@troytrilla) September 25, 2021
https://twitter.com/realakatruth00/status/1441856333062422534
No, Ben plays the entire. He plays scared but, he shows up. Last season Kyrie could have been the best NBA player to ever walk the planet but, in the end how did that help The Nets. Thats has nothing to do with the Media.
— Vette510 (@Vette510) September 26, 2021
Kyrie and Ben have the same self interest make up. Kyrie I believe loves basketball but dosnt care about it. Ben Simmons, he dont even want to play basketball, his happy behind the screen being toxic on COD. More focus on Professional gamer not Professional basketball
— Get Groked (@HeapsEasy) September 25, 2021
Oh kyrie’s shown himself plenty of times. Stop blaming the media
— k (@_k_3424) September 26, 2021
Dude. You nailed it. One is forced perception the other is reality. If Ben was half the player and gave half the effort that Kylie does .. there’s no problems.
— Kevin Mills (@kfgmmills) September 26, 2021
Kyrie is as big as a brat as Ben, just way more talented!!
— chris smyth (@SrSmyth) September 25, 2021
Funny you thing you say that bc sometimes Kyrie does things with no fault of his own it's just perceived that way
— John Pestano 🦁💙💙☺️ (@Lionsbadboy) September 26, 2021
https://twitter.com/Beezyvelli/status/1441957828030185476https://twitter.com/Shayan_MB_23/status/1441828012119449608
exactly. But a much worse imitation. atleast kyrie will show up in the playoffs and is not afraid to take a shot unlike this dude.
— Julio Diaz (@JulioDi27892232) September 25, 2021
I mean at least Ben Simmons didn't take the day off and skip a game to celebrate his birthday.
— StevenC (@StevenCRams) September 25, 2021
We are in front of two polarizing players, but Simmons hasn’t been involved in as many controversies as Kyrie. The Australian player’s shooting struggles are more visible every year, which is a big issue for fans.
However, there’s not much more to that. Simmons just needs to overcome those issues, get it together and become the player he’s expected to become since his rookie season. As for Kyrie, the situation is a little more complex. The veteran guard is one of the most outspoken players out there, but that personality constantly gets him in trouble.
These situations are completely different, and Simmons isn’t as bad as some people want to believe.
