Ben Simmons has been criticized by many in the wake of the Philadelphia 76ers being upset in Game 7 by the Atlanta Hawks. The main criticism was that Simmons wasn’t being aggressive on the offensive end, and a notable example of that was when he passed up an open layup in favor of a pass to a contested Matisse Thybulle.
Many are being unfair to Simmons by pinning the team’s loss all on him, but it was a team affair. However, what has been said by many is that Ben Simmons is still the same player that he was in his rookie year. Stephen A. Smith has recently shared some insider information that suggested that the stagnation of his development is partly on Simmons himself.
I just received a text from somebody very, very close to the situation in Philadelphia about Ben Simmons. This is not me. This is them. Quote: “He doesn’t work, he doesn’t listen, and everyone around him is family, and he’s constantly babied.”
This report is obviously unconfirmed, but it makes sense that Stephen A. Smith would have sources in the NBA. While this is a negative statement about his work ethic, it is hard to believe that a player can be an All-Star and a DPOY candidate without putting any work in. While Ben Simmons obviously needs to work on his aggressiveness, it is unfair to suggest that he doesn’t put in the work from an outside perspective. Hopefully, Ben Simmons is able to prove his haters wrong sooner rather than later.
