After winning Rookie of the Year honors with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2018, Simmons made three consecutive All-Star appearances from 2018-21. He then missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a holdout as well as a back injury that later required surgery. Simmons has been hampered by injuries over the past few seasons, with Smith calling him out on […]
After winning Rookie of the Year honors with the Philadelphia 76ers in 2018, Simmons made three consecutive All-Star appearances from 2018-21. He then missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a holdout as well as a back injury that later required surgery.
Simmons has been hampered by injuries over the past few seasons, with Smith calling him out on multiple occasions.
Smith previously questioned Simmons’ passion for the sport during a July 2024 appearance on The OGs Show.
“He don’t want to play,” Smith said (h/t Christian Arnold of the New York Post). “He don’t love the game. He don’t love the game. I’m not saying he wasn’t injured, but I’m talking about an absence of love for the game. Remember, he was missing games before he was injured.”
As he looks to stay healthy and close out the year on a high note, Simmons fired back at speculation regarding his availability throughout his career.
Simmons was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in Sept. 2022, but health issues persisted. He never appeared in more than 42 games with Brooklyn and underwent a second back surgery near the end of the 2023-24 season.
Los Angeles Clippers guard Ben Simmons responded to criticism of his career from ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith and others.
“For the league, it 100 percent [has a negative domino effect],” Simmons said, per Azarly. “Because nothing’s really valid now. Everyone can say what they want, and I mean, it is what it is. That’s where the world’s going in terms of covering the sport. But like… Who… Yeah. I mean, there’s a lot I can say, but it’s just, you can’t, I’m not going to change everyone’s opinion. It’s not my job.”
“Basketball is my life,” Simmons told Azarly. “I don’t want to play with my life. So that’s who I am. It’s in the family, it’s in the blood. This is what I do. It’s like walking. I love it. This is just what I do. Wake up, basketball’s my thing. And I love the game. I love the opportunities it’s given me in life and my family. So, I mean, even when I step away from the game one day, I’ll still be involved in some aspect, whether it’s coaching, whether it’s helping the youth and giving back. That’s just what I’m going to do.”
In 40 combined appearances with Brooklyn and Los Angeles this season, Simmons has averaged 6.0 points, 5.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists in 24.1 minutes per game while shooting 53.7 percent from the field.
“That’s them making s–t up,” Simmons told ClutchPoints’ Tomer Azarly in a story published Monday. “Like, imagine if I just said like, name whoever, and said whatever. It doesn’t hold any weight, you know? Like, where does it come from? It’s just their thought, it’s their opinion, and everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but I’ve been doing this my whole life since I was four years old. So nothing is going to change that. Yeah, nothing’s just going to change that out of nowhere.”
The forward also responded to comments regarding his affinity for basketball.
He opened his 2024-25 campaign as a member of the Nets, but they later bought out his contract before he signed with the Clippers.
The 28-year-old also believes that negativity from the media affect the rest of the NBA.
