Gilbert Arenas ‘loved’ Ben Simmons trolling 76ers during Game 7 loss to Celtics
Ben Simmons had a disappointing 2022-23 season for the Brooklyn Nets thanks to his inconsistency and frequent amount of injuries that eventually ended his season prematurely. Despite not playing, Simmons still made headlines during the 2023 NBA Playoffs as he trolled the Philadelphia 76ers, his former team, as they lost to the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals in embarrassing fashion.
Simmons received a lot of criticism for his Instagram troll job of the 76ers due to how he left Philadelphia in the first place. Simmons, 26, was a 76er for 5.5 seasons after being selected with the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft out of LSU. He did not play in the 2016-17 season due to a foot injury, but from 2017 to 2021, Simmons was a three-time All-Star, won Rookie of the Year, made third-team All-NBA, etc.
However, after the 2021 second-round loss to the Atlanta Hawks, things went downhill for Simmons and his relationship with the organization and fanbase. Most in the NBA space believe that Simmons quit on the franchise and the relationship soured after that which led some fans to still be resentful of Simmons, leading to the flack he caught for his post. Former NBA player Gilbert Arenas said recently on VladTV that he loved Simmons trolling Philadelphia:
“I loved it. Especially for a guy (Simmons) who gets so much heat, but he doesn’t speak, right? He doesn’t say anything, he doesn’t bother anybody. So, for him to finally troll is like alright finally (expletive). Like, you don’t hear nothing from the dude. It’s one of those guys like I can understand the frustration that he had, right? You know, he didn’t play well offensively that series (2021 semi-finals against the Atlanta Hawks), but he played well defensively.”
