WATCH: Ben Simmons is still allergic to the rim and honestly, there’s only one rightful end to this journey

You ever love something so much it physically hurts when it lets you down? Yeah. That was me with Ben Simmons.

There was a time — and I know this sounds insane in 2025 — but there was a time where I genuinely believed Ben Simmons was the future of the NBA. He was supposed to be our guy. The crown jewel of The Process. 6’10”, handles like a guard, elite vision, lockdown defense, transition offense that made you think, “We actually found the next Magic Johnson.”

Everything was great, and then the wheels fell off. Slowly. Then all at once. Ever since then it seems all we’ve seen of Ben Simmons is the occasional fast break highlight or an injury update.

Ben Simmons Déjà Vu

Ben Simmons still passing up wide open layups…

(via @BronGotIt) pic.twitter.com/1UKUTcRNJK

— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) April 13, 2025

It’s the same story, just different jerseys. Same passiveness. Same mental block. Same frustrating indecisiveness that haunted him in a Sixers uniform.

And the worst part? As I was watching this huge Clippers-Warriors game yesterday, I wasn’t even mad. I wasn’t surprised. I just sat there, feeling like a dumb ex who thought “maybe he’s changed.”

I am still that dumb ex, as a part of me feels like he should just come back home to Philadelphia to resurrect his career and finish the process with Joel Embiid. The only right way this story finishes anyways, right?

Maybe we need each other

Let’s be honest, the Sixers haven’t really been better or worse since Ben Simmons left. I mean, we are all sitting here as fans praying that we get some NBA draft lottery luck on our side. And at the end of the day, the best basketball that was played during this era, is when Ben and Joel shared the court together.

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And if that pisses you off, then maybe you should reassess your fandom of this team.

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