NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal continues to show his disdain for Ben Simmons. In an Instagram post that leaked the Brooklyn Nets guard's NBA2K25 rating, the "Diesel" implied that the dropoff from 87 to 66 wasn't enough.
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O'Neal's hate for Simmons
This is just one of the many digs Shaq has thrown at Simmons over the last couple of years—the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft has joined Rudy Gobert on O'Neal's hate list. If you look at the similarities between how the four-time champion talks about Gobert and Simmons, the common denominator is that the big man hates that they're earning big money without proving they're worth it on the court.
One can argue that Gobert deserves to be cut some slack after helping the Minnesota Timberwolves reach the Western Conference and earning his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award. But Simmons continues to waste the paychecks the Nets are giving him, and O'Neal has had enough of seeing that.
"Ben Simmons, because I would wanna learn how you could make $80 million and play 55 games," Shaq hilariously said when asked about who he'd want pay a ticket for to watch in today's NBA. "Teach me. Teach me how you could play 55 games in three seasons and get $30 million, $40 million, and get another $40 million just by saying your back hurt. Get some f—in' Icy Hot, man up."
Another factor here is that both O'Neal and Simmons played at Louisiana State University (LSU), and the three-time Finals MVP probably feels that the Australian is a disappointment as a product of the basketball program he came from.
As we've noticed from their conversations, O'Neal and Barkley have frowned upon players today who take advantage of the millions of dollars they're earning. After all, the salary in today's NBA wouldn't have been possible without the generation of these two Hall of Famers who paved the way.
What is going on with Ben?
Simmons, who only played 12 out of 82 games last season, is rehabbing from an ailing nerve impingement in his lower back, which is why he was ruled out for the remainder of the year.
The guard is also not expected to compete for Australia in the upcoming Paris Olympics. Since being traded by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2021, Simmons' career has trended downwards as he's only played in 57 regular season games. There's no certainty yet whether the three-time All-Star will be ready for the next NBA season.
It's not hard to wonder why Simmons' 2K rating has taken a massive dip to the point that it reached 66. It seems that many, including his own team, have given up on him, and the only thing he's known for now is that Ben has one of the worst contracts in the NBA.
Related: “Wilt only got two championships” - Shaq’s issue with Shannon Sharpe ranking him as the third-best center of all time
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