Ben Simmons went viral for all the wrong reasons earlier this week, airballing a casual turnaround jumper during a Nets event in Brooklyn, much to the delight of those who are quick to criticize the point guard's lack of a reliable shot.
Speaking with Nick Friedell of ESPN shortly after, Simmons wasn't surprised at the response after his badly missed shot.
"It finds me all the time," Simmons told Friedell. "And it doesn't f---ing stop. Sometimes I'm even sick of it, but then I'm like, 'OK, I'm Ben Simmons, you know? It comes with being Ben Simmons right now.'
"Even the other day there was a clip of me airballing a shot at the park. Meanwhile, like 10 guys airballed multiple shots. So it's like people will find one clip and try to make it that everything…Like come on man, you think I'm just airballing every shot? It's not true. But it comes with it, and you got to have tough skin and I realize that, but nah, I can't take everything personally. It's social media."
Simmons' scoring ability has been under the NBA microscope since his final postseason with the 76ers, and while the Nets won't need much scoring from him given the likes of Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant around him, they will need him to at least be a respected threat to help space the floor for their star playmakers. If Simmons continues to struggle with his shot, it will be a consistent running joke on social media, one that he is already used to dealing with.
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