​Stephen A. Smith delivered a blistering takedown of Ben Simmons as rumors swirled about a potential NBA return. Simmons, who last played for the LA Clippers in the 2024-25 season, has spent more than a year trying to land another team after being released, with injury and attitude concerns driving his value to new lows. Now reportedly pursuing a comeback, Smith warned any team considering signing him, delivering a scathing verdict on Simmons’ career and impact.
On his show, Smith erupted over the idea of Simmons returning to the league, saying he wouldn’t even sign him if a powerful force pressured him to do so. He labeled Simmons an abomination of basketball and asserted that Simmons is the one player in NBA history who would need to pay teams to let him take the floor.
Smith also mocked the notion that Simmons would prefer Miami, noting the Heat Culture’s demand for accountability and production. He imagined Erik Spoelstra and Pat Riley pushing a player to earn their minutes and questioned why any team would want Simmons, calling him a “basketball atrocity” and, in his view, the biggest waste of talent in the NBA or even all of professional sports.
The critic has targeted Simmons for years, stemming from his missteps in the 2021 playoffs against the Hawks that cost Philadelphia a shot at the Eastern Conference Finals. Since then, Simmons has battled injuries and inconsistency, often missing games or failing to perform at the level he showed early in his career.