Since the 2021 NBA playoffs, Ben Simmons has worked to get himself traded from the 76ers. Over the past few months, the situation has gotten ugly with Simmons, as his refusal to play for them has resulted in several fines.
The last thing the public heard was that Simmons was unable to play due to mental health issues. And with over a quarter of the season now done, Simmons has still not played a single game.
Despite the situation, Klutch Sports Group is trying to get fans to vote him into the NBA All-Star game.
RT to Vote for #NBAAllStar!@BenSimmons25
— KLUTCH Sports Group (@KlutchSports) December 25, 2021
Ben Simmons is their client, so you can’t blame them for showing him support. Still, it’s a bit tone-deaf and hollow for them to tweet that knowing he hasn’t played a single game.
Unsurprisingly, fans roasted the agency group on the comments.
What is this? I’m embarrassed for u even doing this.
— Lyle (@WalkWithLyle) December 25, 2021
— Steez Buscemi (@DrianBolan) December 25, 2021
https://twitter.com/SASBurnerAcct/status/1474842013946290181
Ben Simmons to the All-Star team after not playing any games this season pic.twitter.com/X4oX0O51I0
— 6 Seasons and a Moving Screen (@NBAGreendale) December 25, 2021
— UK Wx Community Board of Directors ©2018 (@UKWxC_BoD) December 25, 2021
https://twitter.com/OrSama3/status/1474879949844762629
Definitely deserving this year: Ben Simmons 2021-2022 Stats
0.00 MPG
0.00 PPG
0.00 Assist Per Game
0.00 Rebounds Per Game
0.00 Steals Per Game
0.00 Blocks Per Game
— Mike Foley Jr (@MikeFoleyJr) December 25, 2021
Ben Simmons when he doesn’t make the all star team pic.twitter.com/Lv80uRLvIG
— Philly Patriot (@bucspsu420) December 26, 2021
Me and Ben have the same stats for this season. Can I be an all-star too? pic.twitter.com/cO6fAPpDyR
— Nick Hagelgans (@Nick_Hagelgans) December 25, 2021
— CactiiJuice (@CactiiJuice) December 25, 2021
Simmons, 25, has emerged as a top-tier talent in this league. The 3x All-Star has career numbers of 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 7.7 assists per game on 56% shooting. He’s also among the NBA’s best perimeter defenders.
Sadly, Ben’s shooting struggles limit his game mightily and it was a major part of the reason why Philadelphia lost that second-round series to the Hawks last season.
Since that loss, Simmons has dealt with an insane amount of backlash and his future has never been more unclear.
“I know exactly what he’s going through,” said Dwight Howard. “It’s a learning phase. I don’t think people understand how difficult it is to be an 18 year old kid to come into a world like this. It’s a different reality being in the NBA. Ben is young and being the face of a franchise going through changes. And everything you do will be publicized. All your mistakes, all your failures. When you do something bad, they put that out there more. The whole world sees it and they judge you based off your mistakes. All of us have problems we deal with on the daily. I don’t think people really and truly understand that part and they get offended when players don’t wanna talk or won’t do certain things.”
Needless to say, Ben is not getting elected to the All-Star team this year, not with everything that’s going on.
But there is hope that he might return to stardom in the future, whether it’s with the Sixers or another franchise. Either way, he has a lot of work ahead of him if he wants to win back the hearts of the fans.
