No one can stand Ben Simmons. In the days since Simmons was thrown out of Sixers practice for disobeying coach Doc Rivers, and in the weeks since Simmons stated his intention to pout his way out of town, and certainly in the months since he cratered Philadelphia’s season through sheer cowardice and ineptitude, the entire sporting world seems to have reached the same conclusion: Ben is just the pits.
First up is Joel Embiid, who made it clear just how much he enjoyed Simmons’ one-game suspension as the Sixers started their season Wednesday night with a blowout win over the Pelicans.
According to Embiid, on normal road trips, he holes up in his hotel and games. In New Orleans, with Simmons banished, the team hit the road for a delightful pregame dinner.
“That’s also an evolution for me, because I usually, when I used to go on the road, I’d just like to stay in my room and be on the phone and play video games,” Embiid said after the game. “We’ve been doing more stuff together, and I think it goes a long way when you have that type of relationship as teammates … It’s good to just go out and kinda not talk about basketball and talk about life.”
Tyrese Maxey, who started at point guard with Simmons suspended, said in so many words that the Sixers were united around their hatred of the absentee bricklayer. “The chemistry is really well. Guys like playing with each other, guys like being around each other,” Maxey said. “Sometimes adversity makes you stronger, makes the bond closer and we got to just keep building.”
Simmons is now “not expected to play for an undetermined period of time,” according to The Athletic, including Friday’s game against the Nets. He apparently tried to use “back tightness” as an excuse on Thursday, but was cleared by Philly’s doctors, according to ESPN.
If it’s unusual for a professional athlete’s teammates to roast him in the media, it might be even stranger for a player on another team in the same city to do it. But with Simmons, all bets are off, and that’s exactly what Eagles center Jason Kelce did on Thursday. (The Eagles stink but Kelce has a lifetime pass in Philadelphia after his 2018 Super Bowl parade speech.)
Kelce lit into Simmons for several minutes on Thursday morning. “If I go out there and ball, nobody’s gonna have any choice but to appreciate me or love me as a player,” he said. “What’s gonna on with the 76ers, with Ben Simmons, all that is because of a lack of accountability, a lack of owning up to mistakes, and a lack of correcting things.
“If all that got corrected, if you fix some free throws, if you’re getting better as a player, none of this is happening. Everybody can bitch and complain about how tough this city is to play in,” he said. “Just play better man, this city will love you.”
But Simmons has not fixed his free throws, and the city does not love him, chanting “F—K BEN SIMMONS” at Flyers games and wrestling events. (Announcers on the Flyers’ national broadcast even worked in a cheap shot at Simmons on Wednesday night.)
FBS fever is so powerful that sports fans across the country are seizing on any chance to mock the incompetent Australian, even if it isn’t totally earned. After Simmons was spotted at what might have been his last full Sixers practice with a large object in his pocket, he was widely ripped for playing with a purported cell phone on hand. Shams Charania confirmed Wednesday that it was, in fact, a rolled-up practice jersey.
But there is no shortage of fodder with Simmons. On Thursday, the listing for his suburban New Jersey mansion went online, complete with ridiculous pictures of his gaming room and supremely tidy kitchen. If people forget about the huge neon SIMMO THE SAVAGE sign over the game room, it will only be because he gave them something new to mock.