“You Think I’m Just Air Balling Every Shot?”: Ben Simmons Addresses Viral Video Revealing Kyrie Irving’s Advice

Nets guard Ben Simmons opens up on his recently gone viral airball at Brooklyn bridge park, revealing how teammate Kyrie Irving helped him deal with the situation.

It won’t be wrong to say that Ben Simmons is about to have the most scrutinizing season of his career, given the ugly fallout in Philadelphia. The former ROTY is yet to play a game since the 2021 playoffs, an event which was a turning point in his career.

It’s no secret that Simmons has had his struggles when it comes to shooting the ball. The 26-year-old doesn’t possess the perfect jump shot, coupled with his hardships from the free throw line. Recently, a clip of him shooting an airball at an open Nets practice went viral.

Following this, Simmons was once again the subject of mockery on social media, with fans and analysts throwing shade at the former Sixers guard. However, this time the Aussie native wouldn’t have it, calling out the miscreants for targeting him regularly.

Also read: Is Ben Simmons Left Handed? ESPN Analyst Disagreed and Shared Otherwise With the Nets Star

The recent trending clip of him shooting an airball left Simmons with no option but to address the matter, adding how teammate Kyrie Irving helped him out.

Ben Simmons breaks his silence.

In a detailed report by ESPN’s Nick Friedell, Simmons mentioned dealing with the constant pressures, especially concerning his shooting. Reflecting on his recent airball at Brooklyn bridge park, the 6ft 10′ guard had the following to say.

“It finds me all the time, and it doesn’t f***ing stop. Sometimes I’m even sick of it, but then I’m like, ‘Ok, I’m Ben Simmons, you know? It comes with being Ben Simmons right now.”‘

“Even the other day there was a clip of me air balling a shot at the park. Meanwhile, like 10-guys air-balled multiple shots. So it’s like people will find one clip and try to make it that everything, like Ben can’t do (this or that). Like come on man, you think I’m just air balling every shot? It’s not true. But it comes with it, and you got to have tough skin and I realize that, but nah, I can’t take everything personally, It’s social media.”

Nonetheless, Simmons does find some optimism in this, saying the fan’s outrage comes as a result of them believing he’s capable of much more. The three-time All-Star added how having the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant helps him deal with such situations.

Kyrie Irving offers his piece of advice to Ben Simmons.

Having been controversy’s favorite child for the longest time, Irving could serve as the perfect example for Simmons. Speaking about the latest viral video, Uncle Drew had the following to say.

“For him (Simmons), he’s grown up in Australia, there’s not much of a… I don’t want to disrespect his upbringing, but I don’t know if there’s a space where there’s a melting pot full of diversity and races coming together talking about issues as politics. And it’s just one world that you can honestly say what you feel. And not every country has shared that same freedom so for me telling him not only just ‘F all of it,’ but you got to be able to deal with it. You got to be able to face it.”

Simmons revealed having discussed the matter with Irving.

“Me and Ky literally were just talking about it before practice,” said Simmons. “He’s like ‘Why is everybody on our heads?’ But it comes with it. F***, we’re interesting people I guess. Some guys you wouldn’t talk about because you just don’t care.”

With Irving and Durant able to mask Simmons’ shooting deficiencies, the former Sixers guard can now play to his strengths.

Also read: “Be Aggressive!”: Kevin Durant provides Ben Simmons with same advice he got from Jimmy Butler and Joel Embiid