In Philadelphia, Ben Simmons was one of the best two-way players in the game. A 3x All-Star, 2x All-Defensive player, and former Rookie of the Year, Simmons brings a lot to the table as a defender, playmaker, and finisher around the rim.
Sadly, Simmons has not been able to find that All-Star form since the 2021 playoffs, when he and the 76ers got stomped by the Atlanta Hawks. In fact, since his Nets debut, Simmons really hasn’t done much of anything besides grabbing some rebounds and fouling out of games.
Even after scoring a season-high 11 points in a blowout loss to the Kings on Tuesday, ESPN’s Michael Wilbon refused to give Simmons any flowers.
“Let’s go back over these numbers. The Nets gave up 153 points. They lost to Sacramento, a team that never makes the playoffs, by 32. The first half was a 19-point spread. What that tells me is that for most of the game, it was garbage time. You score, I score, and nobody cares. Ben Simmons goes and gets 11 points in 20 minutes of garbage time. Any 8th man or 9th man on any team in the league could do that and do better. So to ask if this a silver lining, my response is are you kidding? We are concerned with Ben Simmons because he got double figures for the first time all year and we think it’s important. My point is, we waste a lot of time on Ben Simmons. To some people, Ben Simmons is an interesting case study. He was an All-Star then he ran afoul on his coaches and teammates in Philadelphia. Now he’s not there anymore, he’s on another team, and he’s got a different game. He’s not a very good player at the moment. And that’s what the Nets are all about. They got Ben Simmons who is disaffected, they got the problematic Kyrie Irving, they got tremendously unhappy all the time Kevin Durant. They’re the land of lost toys.”
Michael Wilbon followed that up with an arguably harsher critique of Simmons.
“He’s not Ben Simmons anymore,” Wilbon said. “Whatever has happened there has fundamentally changed him. This is sad, to me. It’s sad. The Nets are dreadful. There’s no more benefit of the doubt, no more ‘big three.’ The Nets are in big trouble and Ben Simmons is the guy who once averaged 16 points a game. Now we’re getting happy because he scored 11?”
Will Ben Simmons Ever Return To His All-Star Form?
During the 2018-19 season, Ben’s second in the league, he averaged 16.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.4 blocks per game on 56% shooting. Now, he’s only scoring 5.8 points a night without any of the elite defense that made him so valuable in years past.
Simmons has shown some steady improvements over the last few games, but he has yet to have a moment that would suggest he is even capable of playing at a high level again.
Only time will tell whether or not Ben can bounce back, but many people are already losing faith.
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