Shaquille O’Neal Advises Ben Simmons to Learn From Mike Tyson: “If You Can’t Upset Me, That Means You Can’t Own Me. I Just Don’t Get Mad Anymore”

Shaquille O’Neal revealed on his podcast that Ben Simmons messaged him on Instagram. Ben Simmons messaged Shaq because of the comments made by him earlier. Shaq had called Ben Simmons a ‘crybaby‘ as he refused to play for the Philadelphia 76ers.

The 76ers was a championship caliber team when Ben Simmons was playing along with Joel Embiid. They were on track to become a championship team within a few years. However, now Joel Embiid is the only superstar on the team. Many believe that Joel Embiid’s peak is being wasted due to Ben Simmons not playing.

On a recent episode of ‘The Big Podcast with Shaq‘, Shaq seemed to have some words of advice for the young star. Shaq reiterated Mike Tyson’s mentality and quoted him. Mike Tyson had said “If you can’t upset me, that means you can’t own me. I just don’t get mad anymore”. This is the advice Shaq has for Ben Simmons.

Ben Simmons stopped playing because his coach, Doc Rivers called him out after the infamous loss of the 76ers against the Hawks in the playoffs. Simmons failed to handle the criticism and the hate from the 76ers fanbase. Shaq has quite rightly advised him to stop being bothered by it. All the great players have been hated on, it is just a part of the sport.

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Ben Simmons’ performance before the hiatus

Ben Simmons always lacked the ability to be a three-point shooter. However, he was one of the rising stars of the game. He has a great basketball IQ which enabled him to be a good playmaker and made a lot of assists. Simmons was one of the driving forces for the 76ers.

Simmons was the number one pick in the 2016 NBA draft. This shows that NBA authorities always believed he had the potential to be a great player. He has averaged 15.9 points, 8.8 rebounds, and 7.7 assists. The Australian even managed to have an extremely good 56% field goal percentage.

Ben Simmons is 6’11 and weighs 240 pounds. However, he was one of the most explosive players in the league. He knew how to use his speed and athleticism perfectly. The 76ers were 42-16 when Simmons played with the team last season. Ben Simmons is not the best young player, and there is definitely room for improvement. However, he does have a lot of potential.

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Ben Simmons needs to take Shaq’s advice and get over his fear of criticism. The franchise needs him now more than ever.