Ben Simmons was again the target of a bitter diatribe from NBA talking head Stephen A. Smith, who blasted the Australian as “weak and pathetic” ahead of game four of Brooklyn’s play-off series against Boston.
Simmons, 25, hasn’t played in the NBA this year for either the Philadelphia 76ers, or the Nets, to whom he was traded in February.
And while the team were cautiously optimistic that Simmons would finally be ready to go by the time today’s game rolled around, he was ruled out of the contest shortly after Brooklyn’s loss in game three.
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Game four of the series is set to tip off later today, with Boston aiming to close out a 4-0 sweep.
Smith is no stranger to rants, ranging from extremely relevant to utterly bizarre, and the Australian has been a popular target of his recently – as have his Nets teammates Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.
“Kyrie Irving is one of the most selfish superstars we’ve ever seen and obviously one of the most selfish athletes we’ve ever seen,” he said on ESPN.
“I didn’t say the word ‘the’, as in number one – because obviously he ain’t got nothing on Ben Simmons. Nobody is worse than Ben Simmons.
“Ben Simmons might also be the weakest, most pathetic excuse for a professional athlete we have ever seen; not just in American history, but the history of sports. I can’t think of a professional athlete that has come across as more pathetic than this minute.”
Simmons has been battling a herniated disk in his back, but fans were repeatedly told by coach Steve Nash that the Australian was progressing nicely.
Instead, if Brooklyn lose today, it means Simmons will not have played a basketball game in this entire season.
Smith scoffed at the idea that Simmons was ever going to play in game four of the series.
“They said Ben Simmons is gonna play game four. I said that’s 72 hours from now, I’ll wait. Come to me Monday, because that brother ain’t playing.”
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