Shaq O’Neal: ‘Ben Simmons is not a great player’

NBA legends have weighed in on Australian Ben Simmons’ one-game suspension, with Shaquille O’Neal saying the Philadelphia 76ers star is “not a great player”.

NBA legends have weighed in on Australian Ben Simmons’ one-game suspension, with Shaquille O’Neal saying the Philadelphia 76ers star is “not a great player”.

“Just because we pay some guys a lot of money, it doesn’t mean you’re a great player,” O’Neal said while discussing Simmons on ‘Inside the NBA’ Tuesday night.

“He’s not a great player. He’s a good player.”

Simmons was hit with a one-game suspension by the team on Tuesday, ruling him out of the club’s season opener against New Orleans.

A Sixers statement said Simmons would miss Wednesday’s game against the Pelicans for “conduct detrimental to the team.”

US media reports said Simmons was suspended shortly after a bust-up with Sixers coach Doc Rivers, which ended with the Australian point guard being tossed from practice.

O’Neal told the program that Simmons’ goal was to force a trade.

“Who’s going to want to pay a guy $150-million who’s not going to shoot the ball in the fourth quarter?” the NBA legend turned TV co-host asked.

Charles Barkley, a Philadelphia sports legend, responded, “Nobody.”

“Living in Philly all summer, I have been asked that every single day, multiple times … I said, ‘you guys are acting like there’s (a team) saying give me a guy making $150-million for the next five years who can’t shoot the basketball or can’t make free throws. It’s not that simple,” Barkley said during the telecast.

“It’s a joke. It’s stupid and it’s silly.”

Retired NBA star Shaquille O'Neal. Picture: AFP / Nicholas Kamm.

Barkley said the ordeal was “everybody’s fault” but added that “Ben Simmons deserves, number one, the blame”.

“Because when people ask you to be a better basketball player and they’re paying you $35-million, $40-million, that’s a very fair thing,” he continued.

“The Sixers deserve some blame because they already let this guy not improve and get one coach fired. They threw (former head coach) Brett Brown under the bus.

“And the third thing is (head coach) Doc Rivers. Last year, (he said) ‘you guys want me to take Ben Simmons out the game?’ Yeah, we do. If he’s just going to stand there and not shoot the basketball – yes, we do.

“So there’s plenty of blame to go around. But the number one blame goes with Ben Simmons.

“Your coach. Your mum and dad. You should want to be a better basketball player because that’s your profession, that’s your job. Your coach is important. Your mum and dad’s important. But I wanted to be a great basketball player for myself, first and foremost.”

Former NBA Champion and fellow co-host Kenny Smith said Simmons “moved the pendulum” by showing up to practice disgruntled and “now, it’s your fault right now.”

Ben Simmons was hit with a one-game suspension on October 19, 2021, ruling him out of the club's season opener against New Orleans. Picture: Getty

Simmons’ one-game suspension marks the latest twist to the intrigue surrounding his future in Philadelphia.

The 25-year-old – who was the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NBA Draft – informed the club in recent months that he wanted to leave, although he reported back for training last week.

Simmons’ future has been the subject of speculation since the team lost a decisive Game 7 to Atlanta in last season’s playoffs, with Simmons’s offensive output shrivelling in the crucial final quarter.

That led to Sixers coach Rivers publicly questioning whether Simmons could be a championship-winning point guard.

Ben Simmons

Tensions between Simmons and teammate Joel Embiid have also emerged, with Embiid accusing the Australian of “disrespecting” his teammates in remarks last month.

On Tuesday, a clearly unimpressed Embiid brushed off the latest controversy involving Simmons, insisting the rest of the Sixers roster were focused on preparing for the season ahead.

“At this point I don’t care about that man, honestly,” Embiid said of Simmons. “He does whatever he wants. That’s not my job. I’m only focused on trying to make the team better, win some games, play hard every night, trying to lead the guys that we have here.

“I’m sure they feel the same way. Our chemistry has been excellent despite everything that’s been happening the last few months. So I don’t really care.” Embiid declined to elaborate on the reasons for Simmons suspension, and added that he had little interest in trying to help the Australian reintegrate with the locker room.

“He got suspended for his conduct so I’ll let you guys read into that,” Embiid told reporters.

“I don’t know what’s going on. I don’t mind. At the end of the day our job is not to babysit somebody.

“We get paid to go on the court, work hard and try and win some games. We don’t get paid to babysit somebody. That’s not our job.”

– With AFP