The last time we saw Ben Simmons playing basketball it didn’t look good for him. At all. He struggled offensively throughout the 76ers’ series against the Hawks.
The last significant play he made was passing up this *easy* dunk over Trae Young in Game 7. The 76ers were up 78-77 with about 3 minutes left. If he just dunks the ball, they’re up 3 in a game where no one can score. Maybe they actually win the game.
Instead, he passes it up. And the rest is really history. The 76ers go on to lose the game and lose the series as the no. 1 seed. He never plays for the team again.
Now, look. This isn’t necessarily the play that lost the Sixers the game. They played themselves into a hole as a team. But, at the same time, this is the play that sticks out. It’s the one everyone talks about. And it’s the last play of significance we saw from Ben Simmons.
JJ Reddick brought him on his podcast, The Old Man and the Three, to ask him about it. And Simmons explained it all. He basically explained that he thought Trae Young was coming over to him quicker and that Matisse Thybulle would be able to easily dunk it.
He didn’t realize how much space there was between Thybulle and the basket.
Ben Simmons and @jj_redick revisit the passed-up dunk in Game 7 of the 2021 NBA Playoffs.
Watch the full episode: https://t.co/XvcwoCFhLG pic.twitter.com/HR7HHIpWeT
— TheOldMan&TheThree (@OldManAndThree) September 22, 2022
Here was his breakdown:
“In the moment I just spun and I’m assuming Trae’s going to come over quicker. So I’m thinking he’s going to come full blown and I see Matisse [Thybulle] going — you know, Matisse is athletic, can get up. So I’m thinking quick pass he’s going to flush it. Not knowing how much space there was.”
He continued to explain his mindset and what went wrong.
“It happened so quick, that you just make a read. And in the playoffs, you need to make the right decisions a majority of the time. It happened and I was like “Ok. F*** now we’ve got to go make another play. That’s what I’m thinking. Then I didn’t realize how, you know, everyone was posting…like, it was that big?”
And there you have it, folks. That’s the explanation for the dunk that never was. Simmons also had one final point to make about all the blame being placed on his shoulders. “Also, I’m guarding the f******* best player on the other team the whole game.” Which, you know, that’s a totally fair point. He doesn’t deserve as much blame as he’s getting for that loss, even all this time later.
Still should’ve dunked it. But hey. The past is the past. Maybe everyone can finally put this to bed and move on.
