“I won't say his name at all this year, how about that?” – Shaquille O’Neal clarifies his stance on Ben Simmons' latest statement around ‘LSU brother’ topic, says he just analyzed the game and feels Ben is soft
Ben Simmons has continued to be on the receiving end of considerable criticism leading up to the start of the upcoming season. Despite Simmons continuing to battle mental health struggles, the fact remains that he hasn't played in the NBA for over a year.
The way the 3-time All-Star sees it, Shaq should have reached out to his 'LSU Brother' rather than criticize him. Simmons pointed out the hypocrisy behind O'Neal's comments over the past year, calling him out for not responding after reaching out to him. As Simmons pointed out, for someone who preaches about the LSU Brotherhood often, O'Neal was quick to take shots at Simmons.
The comments didn't sit too well with O'Neal, who fired back on a recent episode of The Big Podcast. In his rebuttal to Simmons, the 4-time NBA champion explained that he made those comments before he knew Simmons was battling his mental health.
"The only rebuttal I had, he said, you know, 'Shaq is my LSU brother he would've reached out.' Reached out to you for what? Who are you? It's my job to analyze basketball games. This man is 6'9 and dribbled under the basket with a dude 6'3 on him, that shows fear. I don't care what you talking about."
Although nobody knew about Simmons' struggles at the time of the 76ers playoff loss to the Hawks, Shaq believes he's picked up on a pattern.
Ben Simmons' struggles over the years
As Shaquille O'Neal went on to point out, Ben Simmons has dealt with struggles prior to joining the NBA. During his time at LSU, questions about Simmons' drive to win big games emerged. Prior to the 2016 NBA Draft, one particular analyst, Jonathan Givony, wrote a particularly interesting analysis of the young star.
In his eyes, Simmons displayed a "lack of competitiveness in crucial games" and a close-mindedness to "coaching or instruction". While O'Neal didn't reference the analysis, he pointed out the pattern he sees in Simmons. He said:
"He did the same thing in highschool, he did the same thing at LSU. Excuse my French, I don't wanna hear that s**t. I want to see you get to the finals. 'I thought an Atlanta defender was behind me!'
"It doesn't matter, he's 6'9 most of guys in Atlanta are 6'7 and below. They only got one guy. He's sensitive, I won't say his name at all this year, how about that?"
Ahead of a season that will see the Brooklyn Nets hope to clinch an Eastern Conference Finals spot, the stakes are high for Simmons. As he looks to make a successful return to the floor, he will need to silence critics like O'Neal. With the NBA preseason now officially underway, all eyes will be on Ben Simmons in anticipation of his debut.