"Follow Gods plan and execute Lil bro" - Allen Iverson hypes up Ben Simmons' apparent return to Philadelphia 76ers
Allen Iverson, a Philadelphia 76ers club legend, has shared positive words of encouragement for Ben Simmons. He tweeted with a picture of Simmons and wrote "Follow Gods plan and execute Lil bro" along with hashtags #PhillyUnite and #BestFansInTheWorld. He hilariously tagged the wrong Ben Simmons Twitter handle.
Follow Gods plan and execute Lil bro @bensimmons... #PhillyUnite #BestFansInTheWorld
📸: @alexsubers https://t.co/b3arE9dU9K
Ben Simmons is now back in Philadelphia after the NBA's messiest offseason saga and, naturally, he wasn't welcomed with open arms. The fans will take a long time to accept him again and might never do so. Joel Embiid, Danny Green and coach Doc Rivers have publicly spoken out about the unpleasant matter and the situation in the locker room is evidently toxic.
Ben Simmons has received a lot of flak online and within the Philadelphia community for his underwhelming performance in the Eastern Conference semifinals of the 2021 NBA Playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks. Simmons' collapse and loss of confidence wrecked the 76ers chance to advance to the Conference Finals despite being the first seed in the East.
Ben Simmons demanded a trade, flew to Los Angeles and refused to speak to anyone on the team. He subsequently missed training camp and all preseason games while accumulating hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines and missed cheques. Simmons eventually folded and returned to Philadelphia, but now everyone is concerned over his game.
Allen Iverson is one of the best players to don a 76ers uniform and his no. 3 jersey hangs in the rafters of the Wells Fargo Center. He is arguably one of the top 5 shooting guards of all time and an uplifting message from him is huge for Simmons' morale. Doc Rivers has gone back on his word and now claims that the Philadelphia 76ers can win a title with Ben Simmons while Joel Embiid also publicly admitted that he is ready to move on from whatever happened in the past.
"We can win a title with Ben [Simmons]. I just believe that."
—Philadelphia 76ers Head Coach Doc Rivers https://t.co/bF4KLNgLcW
Allen Iverson has always supported Ben Simmons
This isn't the first time Allen Iverson has given positive advice to Ben Simmons. Iverson is a sports legend in Philadelphia and if he walks into the arena today, in 2021, the crowd will chant "MVP" when they see him in the stands. He has always shown optimism and support for the Australian point guard.
In Game 2 of the 2017 NBA playoffs, Simmons, a rookie at the time, registered a one-point game. Ben Simmons received a phone call from Allen Iverson as the latter wanted to make sure he wasn't too hard on himself. He told reporters about the call from Iverson at practice and Marc Narducci of The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Simmons' words, where he said,
"I heard he wanted to talk to me so I got on the phone with him and he gave me words of encouragement...He said play the game I know how to play...That is just second nature to me."
#Sixers Ben Simmons said after practice Friday that confidence won’t be a problem for Game 3 https://t.co/RA48zi5nGb
The Philadelphia 76ers kick off their 2021-22 NBA season with a road game against the New Orleans Pelicans on October 20th, 2021. Only time will tell if Ben Simmons will be part of the starting lineup.
Also Read: What is Allen Iverson’s net worth now?