Ben Simmons comments on relationship with Embiid, posts funny selfie with Howard Eskin ahead of return vs. 76ers

Ryan Conway
November 22, 2022
Sixers
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How quickly times have changed. Ben Simmons is back in Philadelphia to face his former team, and the vibe is almost… normal? The mercurial former All-Star was apparently “cordial” and even “humorous” during his media availability ahead of tonight’s game, answering questions and even taking selfies with one of his biggest haters. All while wearing one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen him have.

Of course, Simmons was asked about his relationship with Joel Embiid:

Ben Simmons on his relationship with Joel Embiid:

“You’re not cool with everybody… I think there’s certain people that just you don’t talk to all the time.”

Says he had a lot of great times with Embiid and wishes him the best. pic.twitter.com/8DZB4RMYTV
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) November 22, 2022

Trust me, I’d love to find an excuse to rip Ben for this answer, but I can’t. It was a totally mature, truthful answer.

The pair were never the best friends we Sixers fans wanted them to be. Could the two have worked a little harder on building a relationship? Sure, but it’s clear they were never destined to be anything more than extremely talented teammates.

Of course, that doesn’t excuse the way things ended in Philly for Ben. I still do not like him and hope he fails at the NBA level, but man is it getting harder and harder to muster up rage against this guy.

Hell, he posted up with Howard Eskin and put the selfie on his Instagram story. Is this even real life anymore?

WOW.

Of all the people for Ben Simmons to take a selfie with, Howard Eskin is not towards the top of my list of guesses. And I certainly didn’t expect Ben to have a massive smile on his face.

I don’t think I ever saw him with such a toothy grin at any point during his time in Philadelphia. Just look how happy to two of them are. There’s no way this would have happened when Ben was a Sixer.

Even more surprising, Eskin posted a video from the press conference calling him a “good guy”:

⁦@BenSimmons25⁩ is back in town to finally play for his new team ⁦@BrooklynNets⁩ . He was actually cordial, humorous at times, and open. Came off as a good guy and I know I will get ripped for saying that. If he only had that personality here. ⁦@SportsRadioWIP⁩ pic.twitter.com/YnV57VGAew
— Howard Eskin (@howardeskin) November 22, 2022

What a 180 from reporting Ben was faking a mental health issue to showing him love on Twitter. That’s definitely not the reception a hated player receives from the Philadelphia media, even known pot-stirrer Howard Eskin.

This almost feels like the end of an era. Of course, Ben knows what’s coming from Sixers fans tonight, but I don’t see it happening to the same degree in future matchups in Philly.

Time certainly heals all wounds and, while not enough has passed to fully move past the Simmons Saga, it’s seems both sides are starting to simply move on.