The Ben Simmons saga has been dragging on for quite some time now, and it definitely seems as though his relationship with the 76ers has turned sour very quickly. There have been trade rumors swirling around him all offseason, with him being linked to a variety of destinations.
Many people have blamed Ben Simmons’ offense as one of the causes for the 76ers demise in the second round. Most people will point to Ben Simmons passing up a dunk against Trae Young as an example of that.
When speaking to JJ Redick on an episode of The Old Man and the Three podcast, Matisse Thybulle contrasted how he was treated after Game 7 as compared to Ben Simmons. Thybulle claimed that he lost the 76ers the game with one of his fouls, but that he received almost no hate, as compared to Ben Simmons.
To the last point you just made, he was thrown under the bus. You asked me if I’ve been bood or people been mad at me. I made the foul that lost us the last game. And I received almost no… The Ben hate was so much louder.
It was I lost us the game, which lost us the series, and no-one really spoke about it. They wanted to talk about passing up the dunk and passing it to me more than my foul.
Matisse Thybulle may have a point. Losing can’t always be pinned on one person, as basketball is a team sport. Even after Ben Simmons’ passed-up dunk, the 76ers still had a chance to win Game 7. There is no doubt that Ben Simmons had a bad series, but he wasn’t the only cause of the team’s loss.
There’s no going back now though, and Ben Simmons has no intentions of ever playing for the 76ers again. Hopefully, Ben Simmons is traded to a destination where he can find more success individually, and we’ll see how things play out in the future.
