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Has Brooklyn’s Ben Simmons been gone from Philadelphia long enough for their fans to have gotten over him?
Simmons — set to play against the 76ers for the first time Tuesday night — laughed at the mere thought.
“In Philly? Come on, now,” Simmons said with a shocked expression followed by a knowing chuckle. “I know what’s coming. That’s part of the game.
“Philly fans, one thing about Philly fans is they’re incredible. They’re diehard Philly and they are everything Philly, whatever it is. I respect that about the city. It’s a sports town. I was talking to Yuta [Watanabe] about what it’s like to play in Philly, and it’s an incredible opportunity to put on whatever jersey it is. That’s Philly, and it’s a unique experience.”
What’s coming is going to be voluminous venom. Tuesday will mark Simmons’ first time facing his old team, and the fans at Wells Fargo Center are going to be explosive.
“Our fans are going to be our fans anyway, so it’ll be that type of atmosphere,” Philadelphia coach Doc Rivers said at Monday’s practice in Camden, N.J., admitting his 76ers players will likely be extra motivated against Simmons. “Ben is playing great right now, so we don’t want him to play great.”
Simmons — who has recently shaken off his early-season rust with the Nets — had earned Rookie of the Year and three All-Star berths in four healthy 76ers seasons. But following critical comments from Rivers and center Joel Embiid — as well as hate from the Philadelphia fans — after his 2021 playoff struggles, Simmons requested a trade.
That deal eventually happened on Feb. 10, bringing James Harden and Paul Millsap to the 76ers in exchange for Simmons, Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round draft picks. And even though Simmons’ herniated disk prevented him from playing in the Nets visit to the 76ers a month later, it didn’t stop Philadelphians from spewing hate at him.
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Random chants of “F–k Ben Simmons” were heard at sporting events leading up to that game, with one fan seen on video in Philadelphia with that mantra on a sign. The 76ers beefed up arena security, and a fan even ran toward Simmons at the team hotel before being tackled by Nets security. And he wasn’t even playing.
Tuesday promises to be charged.
“It’s great for him,” Nets coach Jacque Vaughn said. “It’s [a] mental and physical hurdle that he’s going to have to get through, which is great. He’ll have his teammates behind him, he’ll have a coach that believes in him.”
Simmons — who had been benched by Vaughn, but returned to the starting lineup at center Sunday against Memphis — insists he has no ill will toward Philadelphia.
“I was 18 years old coming into Philly so it’s really the only place I’ve lived as an adult. I have a lot of love for that city; people don’t know that,” said the 26-year-old Simmons. “A lot of my best friends are from Philadelphia, my brother still lives in Philadelphia. So regardless of the situation, whatever happened, happened. But I’ve got a lot of love for that city still, so I look forward to going down there and playing.”
And in a surprising turnaround, Simmons will go down there playing well.
Coming back from microdiscectomy in May for a herniated L-4 disk, Simmons started off tentative. He missed five of the Nets’ first 14 games with a sore knee and averaged career-lows of 5.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.9 assists, his team-worst minus-4.8/game just 410th out of 455 NBA players.
But after sitting out the Nov. 13 loss to the Lakers in Los Angeles, Simmons is averaging 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and five assists, totaling a team-best plus-29. He’s coming off a 22-point, eight-rebound, five-assist outing in the win over Memphis.
Like the Grizzlies, the 76ers will also be shorthanded, sans Harden, Tyrese Maxey and now Embiid to rob fans of a mouth-watering one-on-one matchup.
“I don’t worry about that: They’ll get their chance. It’ll happen at some point. But it still has to remain at the end of the day the 76ers want to beat the Nets, period. And maybe with him on there you want to beat them more,” Rivers said Monday. “If I was a player, that’s how I’d feel. I unfortunately can’t play, and you don’t want to see that.”
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