Ben Simmons: 'The fans of Philadelphia are incredible'

Former Sixer Ben Simmons made headlines on Friday with a quote about Philadelphia on a podcast with Cam Johnson and Tommy Alter:

"I didn't appreciate the fans enough...the fans of Philadelphia are incredible." -- Ben Simmons opens up about his relationship with Philly in our sit down with him dropping TOMORROW! 🚨🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/B9KVqvOPoT

— TheYoungManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree) January 23, 2025

"For me, going to a city like Philadelphia was - like from Melbourne, Australia, went to Louisiana, like completely different places - the fans, I didn't appreciate the fans enough. The fans of Philadelphia are incredible. You always want to play for a team that has a good fanbase, whether they're booing or whatever," Simmons says. 

"You just want fans to care. You want the arena packed. So, just having that experience in Philadelphia was amazing. I'm so grateful to have played there and got to experience the city of Philly and know what it feels like to play for a team like Philly and play on a winning team. Like, winning in Philly is different. There's no place like it. We had a chance to win a 'ship. So, I think I'm just grateful to have that experience and know what it's like to be a part of an organization and city like Philadelphia. And then just taking that and trying to apply it to Brooklyn."

Uh huh. If you take it at face value, I guess you have to commend the introspection and seeming maturity from Simmons. The quote sparked some voices on the internet to speak out in support of a Simmons return to the Sixers. For what it's worth, those close to Simmons have always insisted that he never had a problem with Philadelphia, as a city or fanbase. Their account of the story is that his source of dissatisfaction came from within the organization following the departure of Brett Brown. That isn't to say Brown's exit necessarily caused dissatisfaction. Rather, the events that followed that point on the timeline eventually led to his desire to be elsewhere.

Health - ostensibly both physical and mental - has led to such a significant decline in his on-court abilities that it's hard to articulate what he actually does to help his team when he's on the court these days. His skill limitations are as they always were, and now he has far less athleticism than he did during his best seasons with the Sixers. On a human level, it's sad to see such gifts go to waste or deteriorate, depending on how you view it. I always leaned toward valuing the things Simmons did well. He's still an elite passer, something this group lacks. But, he's not consistently willing or able to put pressure on the rim, so his playmaking abilities have declined.

Not that I think it would ever happen, but those in Simmons' camp have never closed the door on a return to Philadelphia. That suggests it's a matter of the Sixers' interest in having him back at some point. They can ill afford to roster any more players with long-standing injury issues. 

But, I don't believe that there are many coincidences in professional sports.

Simmons is on the last year of a max deal. His market very well may be a league minimum, at best, this summer. The Sixers will likely be in a cap sheet situation in which they're looking for a batch of players on minimum contracts. It's a harmless public relations move, if nothing else, to flatter Philadelphia - as a franchise, city and fanbase - as your free agency approaches.

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