NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal questions the duality of Ben Simmons’ anxiety, taking a dig at his expensive outfits and accessories.
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Things haven’t been the same for Ben Simmons, who hasn’t suited up for a single game since June 2021. The former ROTY was at loggerheads with his former Sixers team for most of the 2021-22 season. Simmons refused to play any game for the Philly franchise, finally having his way.
Though the 6″10′ guard found a new home with the Brooklyn Nets. The Simmons saga began during the 2021 eastern conference semi-finals when the Hawks eliminated the Sixers in a Game Seven at Philadelphia.
The result was a shocker as the Sixers were highly favored going into the series. At the time, Simmons received a lot of flak for his shooting, especially from the free-throw line. Head coach Doc Rivers and teammate Joel Embiid would publicly express their doubts over Simmons’ potential as PG.
Simmons cited mental health as the reason for refusing to participate in any games for the Sixers. According to reports, Simmons was seeing the team counselor too.
With every NBA headline having Simmons in it for most of the season, NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal gave his take on the matter.
Shaquille O’Neal is skeptical of Ben Simmons’ anxiety issues.
From the beginning, the Big Diesel had despised Simmons’ means of forcing himself out of Philadelphia. Shaq felt the former Sixers guard lacked the competitive fire to go out and perform, taking a dig at the latter for posting pictures of his Ferrari and his actress friends while he missed games.
The heat on Simmons only grew after he failed to make a return for the 2021 playoffs, with the three-time All-Star citing back issues. Hall of Famers like Reggie Miller, Charles Barkley, and Shaq asked Simmons to man up.
In a recent interview with Taylor Rooks, Shaq seemed critical of Simmons’ anxiety issues, saying the following.
“If you have anxiety shooting free throws, you having anxiety putting on green leather and 300K worth of chain? When people like here that work hard never seen a million dollars, And like do you have anxiety then? When you’re sitting on the bench, these are the questions I wanna ask the experts.
I can understand you have anxiety in a game but when you not playing and you’re sitting on the bench and you know 300K Gucci and the big chains and rings what, do you have anxiety then?”
Shaq evidently seems critical of Simmons’ reasons for mental health. However, subjects like these are extremely personal and one may never know the crux of the actual situation.
