Ben Simmons lived a tumultuous exit from the Philadelphia 76ers, starring in controversial moments almost every season he spent at Wells Fargo Center. Following a collapse against the Atlanta Hawks in 2021, Ben made a lot of enemies in Philadelphia, and his situation got worse after he declined to play for the team again.
He was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in March in the blockbuster trade that sent James Harden to the Sixers. Ever since that moment, he has become Philadelphia’s No. 1 public enemy, and that won’t change for a long time.
Simmons has talked about his relationship with the city, revealing he has some business there and it will be hard for him to disconnect from the city. It’s been months since that moment and people still keep talking about Simmons’ divorce from the Sixers.
Ben Simmons Gets Real On Relationship With Joel Embiid
Something that wasn’t addressed as other topics was his relationship with Joel Embiid before and after he left the team. During a recent interview with ESPN’s Nick Friedell, Simmons revealed that he hasn’t talked to his former teammate, going further and saying that they never developed a relationship off the court.
While we’re on this topic — have you talked to Joel [Embiid] yet?
Simmons: I don’t talk to Jo. We never really spoke.
You guys had a lot of success when you were there. How would you describe that relationship now?
Simmons: I don’t think there was really a relationship there. Like in terms of a friendship? You can try as hard as you want to try to be close to somebody, be their friend, whatever it is, but everyone is different as people, so for me, it’s never personal. I don’t have any anger or hate towards him. He is who he is and I am who I am. And we’ve got our personal lives. And work is basketball, so in that moment, my goal is to win and I got to win with Jo. He’s a great player, we just didn’t get it done.
Many reports suggested that Simmons and Embiid were trying many things to improve their relationship and chemistry on the court, but things didn’t click for them. The Sixers had good opportunities to make a statement in the Eastern Conference, but an epic shot by Kawhi Leonard in 2019 and Trae Young’s masterpiece (along with Simmons’ struggles) in 2022 ruined their plans to make a deep playoff run.
They took separate ways and now Simmons is ready to help the Brooklyn Nets win it all, while the Sixers will try the same with a team that looks ready to get that elusive championship.
