Shaquille O'Neal rekindles beef with Ben Simmons, asking him to 'man up' following Nets' forward injury woes
Shaquille O'Neal, as great as his basketball career may be, has been known to be a harsh critic of players. In the latest edition of "The Big Pod with Shaq," he set his sights on the oft-injured Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets.
When asked who would be the player he'd pay to watch live, O'Neal sarcastically named Simmons. Both are former No. 1 draft picks out of LSU and were each named the NBA Rookie of the Year.
"Ben Simmons," O'Neal said. "Because I'd wanna learn how you can make $80 million and play in 55 games. Teach me. Teach me how you can f***** play 55 games in three seasons and would get $30 million, $40 million and get another $40 million just by saying your back hurt. Get some f**** Icy Hot. Man up."
Validating Shaquille O'Neal's claims and numbers about Ben Simmons
With Shaquille O'Neal's hot take on Ben Simmons, the internet has gone bonkers. Let's check the validity of the former league MVP's knee-jerk numbers.
Ben Simmons is earning $37.8 million this season and $40.3 million the following season. Arriving on the Brooklyn Nets via the James Harden trade two seasons ago, Simmons earned $33 million in 2021-22 and $35.4 million in 2022-23.
As for the games played, Shaq was nearly accurate as Simmons has only played 57 games for the Nets since the 2021-22 season. Simmons has averaged 6.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.2 steals in Brooklyn.
Regarding the injury history of Simmons, he has been dealing with back and neck issues since 2021. Adding to that, he had a lengthy conditioning period after getting traded to the Nets in February 2022 but then ultimately didn't play because of the back issue in May 2022.
Simmons also missed all of the 2016-17 season with a broken bone in his right foot after being drafted No. 1 in 2016.
The 2020-21 season was the last time that Simmons had a significant contribution to a team as he averaged 14.3 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 6.9 apg and 1.6 spg in 58 games for the Philadelphia 76ers.
Fast-forward to the 2023-24 season, Simmons only appeared in 15 games, with 12 starts. His numbers regressed to 6.1 ppg, 7.9 rpg and 5.7 apg in 23.9 minutes of playing time. He is out for the season and opts to rehab his back injury as he prepares for a contract season. He had back surgery on March 15.