‘Look Good Shooting That Thing’: Shaquille O’Neal Calls Out Ben Simmons to Learn From Lonzo Ball’s Example

The Ben Simmons trade saga has faced yet another curveball with Simmons now returning to Philadelphia. While he has returned to Philadelphia, there is still no confirmation on whether he will resume practice with the 76ers. However, this return to Philadelphia after buying a house worth $17.5 million in California has raised several experts’ eyebrows.

And among them is the brutally honest NBA Legend, Shaquille O’Neal. Nevertheless, Shaquille recently claimed an ‘I told you so’ moment of sorts. Since he has always been a firm believer that Ben will not get traded since he is not in demand in the league. Moreover, he claims Simmons needs to learn from the Chicago Bulls point guard, Lonzo Ball. Especially in terms of improvement and work on the jump shot.

 Shaquille O’Neal trolls Ben Simmons after his return to Philadelphia

Shaquille O’Neal has been infamous for having polarizing views which are brutally honest and are sometimes categorized as harsh. On the most recent episode of the Big Podcast with Shaq, he expressed what he felt about Ben Simmons‘ return to Philadelphia.

He said, “Somebody put out a tweet yesterday that made a lot of sense. He said the way Lonzo Ball is shooting right now is just a testament to somebody working on their jumper. Lonzo Ball is shooting that thing and he look good shooting that thing. And I thought about that and I’m like, you know what? After one year, he changed his shot up and is looking better. This dude been in the league 5-6 years with the same shot, same little attitude. But they called his bluff. Good job Philadelphia.”

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While throwing some banter at Simmons, Shaq did not hesitate to bring up Ben’s new $17.5 million house in California. He also brought up the habit of Ben Simmons to post off-season shooting videos which he never uses in the actual game. When making a comparison between Lonzo Ball and Simmons, while the common factor remains playmaking, the key difference is the strengths on the opposite ends of the floor.

Lonzo is looking like he’s going to become a steady volume shooter whereas Simmons excels in defense. Is it really fair to ask Simmons to develop a jump shot when Lonzo does not receive any criticism for lack of defense? Or are we being too harsh on Simmons? At the end of the day, a good offense beats good defense. So maybe the NBA community has transitioned into valuing offense more than defense?

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