Ben Simmons has had a career filled with ups and downs. Ever since the start of his stint in the NBA, he has been receiving constant criticism about his game. But he still stood true to himself and continued to develop in areas he would usually excel in.
Before the start of the 2021-22 season, the point guard entered a rough patch. The 3x All-Star claimed that he was struggling to keep himself mentally fit. During an interview with JJ Reddick on The Old Man and the Three podcast, Simmons revealed that the Philadelphia 76ers did not seem to care about his mental health struggles.
“Obviously I didn’t handle things the right way, but also the team didn’t either… I didn’t feel like I got it from coaches, teammates. I won’t say all teammates, because there’s great guys on that team that did reach out and are still my friends. But I didn’t feel like I got that, and it was just a tough place for me,” he said.
As a result, Ben Simmons took matters into his own hands and decided not to participate in training camp that season. This caused a rift between him and then head coach Doc Rivers. Simmons eventually requested a trade and signed with the Brooklyn Nets.
Ben Simmons has no bad blood with Philadelphia
When Ben Simmons was acquired by the Nets, they already had a superstar duo waiting to accommodate him. But injuries added to his absence from the court which further ruined the chemistry within the organization. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were eventually traded as per their request. Simmons returned in the following season averaging 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists in 42 games. Soon, he required surgery to fix a herniated L-4 disk.
Recently, he was interviewed by Andscape regarding himself, recovery, the Nets, and his relationship with the Sixers. Ben Simmons claimed that even though Durant and Irving left, he still wanted to be in Brooklyn as he didn’t have an issue with the organization.
Ben Simmons reflects on Philly:
“I’ll always have love for Philly. People always ask me like, ‘If you were to get traded again where you want it to be?’ I always say, ‘Just Philly. Philly is a second home to me.’ And in time, you learn and grow as people. I don’t really have… pic.twitter.com/L4Q2D5yuVY
— Hoop Central (@TheHoopCentral) August 30, 2023
But when he was asked to mention a destination if he were ever to be traded, he said, “I’ll always have love for Philly. People always ask me like, ‘If you were to get traded again where you want it to be?’ I always say, ‘Just Philly. Philly is a second home to me.’ And in time, you learn and grow as people. I don’t really have anything bad to say about Philly. It was a crazy situation at the end, but it is what it is.”
Simmons briefly mentioned that the organization back then wasn’t helping him cope with his mental health better. However, that hasn’t stopped him from appreciating the things they did for him while he was in Philly.