After 470 days, Ben Simmons finally took the floor in an NBA basketball game. It wasn’t for the Philadelphia 76ers, but rather for the Brooklyn Nets against the Sixers on Monday night in a preseason matchup.
Simmons had a very dramatic and ugly exit from Philadelphia when it turned into bickering on both sides. Eventually, Simmons got what he wanted when he was traded to the Nets at the 2022 deadline.
He did not play a single game in the 2021-22 season. He did not want to play in Philadelphia, and he had a back issue when he got to Brooklyn. On Monday, he finally took the floor for the Nets, and he had six points, five rebounds and four assists. He looked like his usual self out on the floor.
Before the game, Simmons sat down with Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer and had this to say about facing his former Sixers team:
“A lot of people try to create a fake beef or whatever is,” he said. “Like, if I have an issue with somebody, I’ll just (expletive) tell them.
“If somebody got an issue with me and they don’t say anything, but they want to talk behind my back, then that’s a personal thing. That’s them. I can’t get caught up on that. But I’m just happy to be on the court.”
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At this point, it seems Simmons is happy and is ready to move on with his life. What happened with the Sixers happened and now, he is ready to make an impact in Brooklyn and help them succeed just as he did in Philadelphia.
Simmons will make his second return to Philadelphia on Nov. 22 with the Nets. However, he is expected to play in this one after sitting out the previous matchup in March 2022 after the trade.
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