Should Ben Simmons—who is now expected to attend, but not play in, the Nets-Sixers game on Thursday at the Wells Fargo Center—received a tribute video from the team?
Sixers head coach Doc Rivers was asked that question after Monday's win over the Bulls.
"That's a loaded question. Yeah, I do actually," Rivers told the media. "Ben did a lot of good things here, you know? It didn't end well. Just like marriages and all kinds of other things don't end well, right? Ben did a lot of good things here. I don't know if we are or not, but if we did I'd have no issues with it."
The follow up question was about the atmosphere in the building.
"Are fans are so silent, so I can't imagine anything happening," Rivers joked.
Simmons, 25, was the first overall pick of the 76ers in 2016 and has put together many productive seasons in Philly, reaching three All-Star games and two All-NBA first-team defensive teams. In 2018, Simmons won the Rookie of the Year amazing missing his first season with a foot injury and in 2020 Simmons led the NBA in steals, finishing as the defensive player of the year runner up to Rudy Gobert.
Simmons averaged 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, and 1.7 steals in four seasons with Philadelphia across 275 games.
However, Simmons' tenure in Philadelphia soured, culminating in last year's Eastern Conference semifinals series loss to the Atlanta Hawks where Simmons became a nonexistent offensive threat late in games.
Looking back, in the middle of the series following on of Simmons' good games, he posted this on Instagram, as his hot-cold relationship with the fan base was clearly affecting him.
While Simmons certainly had plenty of supporters during his time in Philadelphia, none louder than myself admittedly, a tribute video for him on Thursday after what has transpired over the last eight, nine months seems absurd.
SportsRadio94WIP is hosting a "Where's Ben" event on Thursday at Chickie's and Pete's in South Philadelphia, where each 94WIP show will give away these t-shirts to the first 25 people who show their ticket to the Sixers-Nets game.