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Ben Simmons Gets Honest About His Relationship with Joel Embiid While With Sixers

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PHILADELPHIA, PA - MAY 05: Philadelphia 76ers Center Joel Embiid (21) looks on during warmups before the Eastern Conference Semifinal Game between the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers on May 05, 2018 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, PA. (Photo by Kyle Ross/Icon Sportswire)

Looks like Ben Simmons didn’t trust the process.

The Ben Simmons era ended unceremoniously for the Philadelphia 76ers as the All-Star guard forced his way out following a tumultuous summer in 2021. He had a rough go of it following the team’s Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks and it really affected him mentally. Since that time he still hasn’t played in a regular season game. Now that Simmons is in Brooklyn, he is beginning to speak out on his time in Philadelphia and he was asked about his relationship with Joel Embiid by ESPN’s Nick Friedell:

I don’t talk to Jo. We never really spoke.

I don’t think there was really a relationship there. Like in terms of a friendship? You can try as hard as you want to try to be close to somebody, be their friend, whatever it is, but everyone is different as people, so for me, it’s never personal. I don’t have any anger or hate towards him. He is who he is and I am who I am. And we’ve got our personal lives. And work is basketball, so in that moment, my goal is to win and I got to win with Jo. He’s a great player, we just didn’t get it done.

It is interesting to see that the relationship everybody thought Simmons and Embiid had was non existent. Now that Simmons is with the Nets now the two sides can move on.

But just imagine how good they could have been if they were actually friends? Everyone knows it’s always a lot more fun to play on the same side as your friends.


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