Ben Simmons’ reputation has come to a point where he is more trusted to fail than to play two back-to-back good games. Simmons has almost seemed to have forgotten that he was a star in the league. Among former players who have been critical of the former Philadelphia 76ers star, Shaquille O’Neal has been one of the most vocal ones. Recently, Shaq criticized Simmons for not suiting up for his country Australia in the upcoming FIBA World Cup. One month after that, Shaq has continued his onslaught on Simmons by sharing this infamous ESPY’s skit from 2 years ago.
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Recently, Shaq shared a graphic from Basketball Forever on his Instagram that said Simmons will not suit up for Australia. The Brooklyn Nets star had decided not to participate in the 2023 FIBA World Cup. Seeing his performance last season, O’Neal obviously wanted Simmons to participate so that he could hone his game. The latest reports have also suggested that Simmons has been as healthy as ever in the last few months.
Shaquille O’Neal continues to mock Ben Simmons by posting infamous ESPY’s video
In 2021, Anthony Mackie hosted the ESPY Awards. During one of the segments of the show, he took a massive shot at Simmons for his bad shooting form. Alluding to Simmons bricking from the free-throw line and midrange, Mackie made the comment that Simmons was building an orphanage just through his bricks in the postseason.
“Not everyone knows but Ben Simmons has been building orphanages…completely out of his playoff bricks,” said Mackie. Shaq shared a post featuring a clip of the segment on his Instagram stories recently.
The next part of the video showed Simmons missing free throws from the foul line. In 2021, Simmons made one of the worst plays in his career. He was being guarded by Danilo Gallinari outside the paint. However, he did a spin move and found himself right below the rim guarded by Trae Young. The former 76ers star could have very well dunked the ball on Young. However, he chose to pass the ball to his teammate who was in no position to score. The post-game press conference was bad for Simmons as both coach Doc Rivers and Joel Embiid took a shot at him. Since then he hasn’t been himself.
For a point guard, the star player has excellent court vision and can be a monster on defense. He has been known to guard the best players in the league with ease. However, one of the problems that continues to linger in his game is his jump shot. Despite the apparent problem, he hasn’t been able to improve on his shot. He is also experiencing a slump from the three-point line.
Shaq shares Kevin Garnett’s video asking the star to go back to his roots
Simmons has continued to be the butt of jokes for his overall performance in the last two seasons he played. A number of NBA analysts and former players have given their advice to the All-star player to get past his poor form. Shaq recently shared a video of Kevin Garnett spilling facts about Simmons on his podcast KG Certified. Garnett asked the Nets star player to find his roots again and find out why he loved playing basketball in the first place. He also alluded to the fact that there are players who love the game and are still sitting at home.
“I want you go back and find your roots. Go back and find why you love playing the game… There’s Melo, Cousins at home, Dwight. There’s n— at home that could be in the league. If your heart ain’t in it, it is what it is.”
Simmons hasn’t been himself since his Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks when he gave up his open layup. Perhaps, the 2018 Rookie of the Year should understand that in this league, it doesn’t take much time for a star to fade away. He is just 27 years old now and has a lot to offer if he continues working on his strength, which is defense and facilitation.
