When Ben Simmons got traded to Brooklyn two years ago, he left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. Even his teammates! Following the playoffs debacle against the Atlanta Hawks, he refused to get on the court the following season, blaming his holdout on a lingering back injury. As expected, Ben’s actions created a hostile environment in the Sixers’ locker room as his teammates began to despise him. Giving more details about the whole fiasco, his former teammate Georges Niang revealed how Ben’s holdout shattered his hopes and poisoned the locker room.

Making an appearance on The Road Trippin’ Show, Niang was asked if there was any player on his team who rubbed him the wrong way. Although a bit hesitant at first, he replied, “In Philly, it was the, and I don’t wanna, like, beat a dead horse with it because I actually feel bad at this point, the Ben Simmons thing. That pissed me off.”

Following a decent stint in Utah, Niang joined the Sixers in 2021 on a two-year $6.7 million deal. And he was initially really excited about sharing the court with Simmons and Embiid. “It’s gonna be great for my career,” he thought. However, his hopes were shattered by Ben’s decision. “Then he was like ‘I’m not playing’ and I’m like ‘What the f**k?’”

But as per the organization’s advice, Niang and the rest of the players tried to make amends with Simmons, only leading to more frustration for them. “Then he was like walking around the facility, you know like you be like ‘What’s up man’ because they’ve like, you know ‘try to welcome him back.’” Only to get a disinterested nod from Simmons in response.

“That’s when I was like ‘F**k that dude’ If I get an opportunity to play against this dude, I’m gonna just be an a**hole,” Niang remarked. Leaving his teammates stranded, Simmons got his wish a year later and was traded to the Nets after sitting out the entire season in Philly.

The moment that changed everything

While things didn’t end well between Simmons and the Sixers, the situation was not always that bad. In fact, he was supposed to be one of the future pillars of the organization after he showed immense potential during his rookie year and bagged the ROTY trophy. But after making three straight All-Star teams, things went terribly.

During Game 7 of the second round against the Atlanta Hawks three years ago, Simmons made the biggest mistake of his career as he passed up an open layup in the closing minutes, leading to the Sixers getting eliminated from the title race. Sure enough, Philly fans were pissed and Ben never heard the end of it.

With his confidence shattered, Ben has never been the same player since that game. Moreover, it was also one of the major reasons why his relationship with his teammates and the franchise went down the drain. As Joel Embiid calls it, “I think that’s the one that got away.”

However, unlike Niang, Embiid has expressed no hard feelings for his former teammate, “I’ve always been one of those people that didn’t believe he actually needed a jumper like, he was so good, he’s just a monster… I just hate the fact that the way things happened.” Unfortunately, fans will always be left wondering ‘what could’ve been’ looking back on the Ben Simmons fiasco.

Before you go, do not forget to check out this crossover between BG12 and Georgia Bulldogs star Silas Demary Jr.