Former Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons has slammed the organisation for 'not helping' when he was at a low point mentally.
Simmons is now a member of the Brooklyn Nets after being traded in February 2022, although due to an injury sustained in his back he is yet to make a single NBA appearance. The Australian asked to be traded at the end of the 2020/21 season, did not feature in their following pre-season, and even put his Philadelphia home on the market.
However, he was not allowed to leave, and Simmons was repeatedly fined for missing games until he revealed that it was due to him struggling mentally. Simmons has now finally spoken out about his dramatic final season in Philadelphia, and has called out the 76ers for 'not helping'.
The 26-year-old appeared on The Old Man & The Three podcast, hosted by former 76ers team-mate J.J. Redick, and opened up about his struggles. "I was in such a bad place where I was like, f***, I'm trying to get here and you guys are, like, throwing all these other things at me to where you're not helping.
"And that's all I wanted, was help. I didn't feel like I got it from coaches, teammates. I won't say all teammates, because there's great guys on that team that did reach out and are still my friends but I didn't feel like I got that, and it was just a tough place for me."
During the height of Simmons' struggles, he was being thrown out of practice, and coach Doc Rivers labelled him as a 'distraction' to the other players before learning the cause of his behaviour. And Simmons addressed this too, as he said: "I actually spoke to Doc before practice. I was like, 'Doc, I'm not ready. Mentally, I'm not ready'. Please just understand that.
"I tried to let him know prior, and he was like, 'Well, I'm going to put you in anyway.' I'm like, 'All right.' He told me to get in. I looked at him. It was like one minute into practice, like, 'Ben, get in.'
"I'm like, first of all, no one's doing that. You're doing this on purpose. And that's how I felt, too. It seems like everyone's trying to f*** with me now. I'm getting fined for not lifting weights, but physically I'm one of the strongest guys on the f***ing team.
"So now they're fining me for little things. It was just a build-up. Obviously, I didn't handle things the right way, but, also, the team didn't either, and the people who had that power." Simmons ended up becoming the most fined player in NBA history, although once he opened up the fines soon stopped.
Simmons thought his nightmare situation had finally come to an end when he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets in February 2022. The Australian moved along with Andre Drummond, Seth Curry and two future first-round picks while the 76ers picked up James Harden and Paul Millsap.
But his tough time continued, this time with physical obstacles getting in the way. Simmons was diagnosed with a herniated disk in his back and was ruled out for the remainder of the regular season. But just when he thought he would return for the play-offs, he received a set back, and later underwent surgery to resolve the issue.
Simmons is eagerly awaiting his Nets bow, and will be keen to bounce back after a difficult 18 months period. The NBA gets underway on October 18, and Simmons has been working hard over the summer.
The Philadelphia 76ers have been contacted for comment.
