Shaquille O’Neal shared a harsh truth about former NBA All-Star Ben Simmons on ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq,’ slamming the Brooklyn Nets‘ star as a sensitive player who hasn’t come to terms with being exposed as a player during the 2021 Playoffs against the Hawks. O’Neal acknowledged Ben’s injury issues but believes the 6’10” guard has had mental obstacles regarding his game since 2021.
“Ben is sensitive right, he came in with a lot of hype… When he got exposed… When he didn’t want to shoot in Atlanta and he kept passing the ball, and everybody was jumping on him, he got exposed.”
“Now the back thing, I let that go the first year, I’m not letting that go 3 years in a row. This is 2024, you’ve got shots, you’ve got pills, you’ve got treatment, I don’t want to hear that s—t. And I could tell when he came back and played, he’s afraid of what people were going to say about him. He’s still in shock mode.”
Ben Simmons averaged 6.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 5.7 assists in 15 games last season, a far cry from when he was making All-NBA teams as a sophomore player in the league. Simmons is one of the most gifted players to have come out of the Draft in the last 10 years, with some even comparing him to LeBron James due to his size and court vision.
Unfortunately, Simmons has been a massive disappointment despite getting his career off to a hot start with All-Star, All-NBA, and even DPOY consideration before the 2020-21 season. That season ended with Simmons being a negative asset to the Philadelphia 76ers as they fell to a shocking second-round loss to the Atlanta Hawks.
Simmons has never been the same as a player. He has been unable to stay healthy for the last four seasons and still can’t shoot, making it hard to play him when he’s available. He’s on an expiring contract, so Simmons might be fighting for his NBA future this season if he can see the court enough.
Another Offseason Of Ben Simmons Hype
For years, we’ve been seeing summer clips of Ben Simmons taking jumpers or having his representative and coaches talk about how he’s transformed his game over the summer. That has never been true before and likely won’t be true this season, but reputed Nets analysts believe that Simmons is headed for a massive comeback season in 2024-25.
For Simmons’ sake, I hope he’s going to have the kind of comeback season that eliminates all the doubts over his game, but the likelihood of the same is very slim. The offensive uncertainty he brings to the court has affected all his positive skills such as playmaking and defense as well, so it’s hard to see how one summer changed his game enough to not only unlock his scoring ability but bring back the other abilities we know he possesses but haven’t seen in action for years.
The Nets are going to be tanking to the bottom of the NBA this season to maximize their chances at the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft. Simmons has the opportunity to show his game without having the pressure to win, so hopefully, he can show he still has value in a contract year.
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