Until Ben Simmons gets a chance to redeem himself, he will, for better or worse, be the subject of merciless trolling from the NBA fanbase. Simmons has become a punchline for basketball fans after a difficult 2020-21 NBA season.
Simmons performed very well in the regular season, being named an All-Star, and an All-Defensive First Team player for his performances. But by the time the NBA playoffs started, the wheels fell off for Simmons.
The 2018 Rookie Of The Year had a very poor showing in the playoffs, often underperforming against the Washington Wizards. But it only got worse during the 76ers’ upset loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the second round.
Most notably, Simmons passed up an open dunk in the final moments of Game 7, and since then, it has been open season on Simmons. While it must be hard enough to endure constant trade talks and links away from your team, the incessant trolling from the fans makes it even harder to keep a positive mindset.
But even Simmons couldn’t expect a heartfelt tattoo to become a subject of scrutiny. Simmons took to Instagram to share a picture of his new tattoo, a ‘+61′. +61 is actually the telephone code for Australia, Simmons’ native country, whom he is trying to keep close to him.
https://twitter.com/76ersfan2008/status/1435749324865085444
The NBA does have an eagle-eyed fanbase, and one fan was quick to point out that Simmons’ free-throw percentage from last season was 61%.
Simmons is in the eye of a media storm right now, with anything and everything he does becoming headline fodder. Most recently, Simmons decided to play into this media hype, taking a picture at a barbershop with an NBA sheet that had every franchise on it, referencing the trade rumors surrounding him.
