The saga of Ben Simmons is an exhausting one. As some of you already know, Simmons has turned into a sort of villain among casual fans of the NBA. Between his off-the-court relationships with Hollywood socialites and his holding out in the 2021-2022 season, fans have waivered in supporting the three-time All-Star.

How Simmons Became Hated

The downfall started in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Semi-finals at the end of the 2020-2021 season. The game was winding down, and Simmons received a pass that put him under the basket. Trae Young, a guard about nine inches shorter than him, was the only force between him and a layup. Rather than take the layup, he swung the ball out for a missed jumper. Many Sixers fans point to this moment when their team lost the game. Afterward, Simmons said he felt there was a bigger challenger and did not know exactly where he was on the court.

After this, Simmons admitted that he had been playing with severe back problems. In the offseason, Simmons elected to get back surgery to fix his issue. Fast forward to the beginning of the season, and there were rumours that Simmons could actually play. While not much has been released as to why he didn’t, Simmons mentioned that he wasn’t receiving the support of the coaching staff he would like and held out the entire season. Simmons was eventually traded in February 2022 for James Harden to the Brooklyn Nets.

At the start of this season, Nets fans were anticipating big things from Simmons. Unfortunately for them, Simmons started the season off averaging a measly five points, six rebounds, and five assists on 44% shooting from the field. Rumours were swirling about some teams that were tanking that wanted to take on Simmons remaining $145 million contract, but due to his poor play, they backed out.

Back To All-Star Status?

Once the media stopped covering Simmons, it’s almost as if some pressure was alleviated. Simmons is back to his career benchmarks in the past four games, averaging 15.5 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 7.3 APG, 1.8 SPG, and 1.5 BLK. In addition, he’s shooting an astounding 80% on 8.8 field goal attempts per game. As you know, Simmons does not possess a jump shot, so the fact that he’s still shooting 80% from the field shows you his level of basketball IQ. Funny enough, you may not have heard about this. It’s going to take a while for Simmons to shake that negative media, but the best way to do it would be to get back to his usual self; an excellent finishing guard with an extraordinary ability to guard every position on the court.

Hypothetically, let’s say Simmons keeps this level of production up. Ben gathered All-Star selections for three consecutive years from the 2018-2019 season until the 2020-2021 season averaging 16 PPG, 8 RPG, and 7 APG. I had just mentioned that Simmons has been on that line for the past four games, but he’s got some better competition this year if he wants to make an All-Star appearance. The trick for Simmons is that, depending on who you ask, he can be a forward or a guard. For the sake of brevity, let’s look at the forwards. I don’t see Simmons making it in that selection. He’s stuck behind his teammate Kevin Durant and Eastern Conference rival Jayson Tatum. Durant is averaging 28.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 5.3 APG; if not for him, the Nets would be worse off. Tatum many pundits are calling for him to win the MVP. He’s averaging 30.6 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 4.7 APG, possibly the best player in the league. Compare that to the overall work of Simmons this year, averaging 8.6 PPG, 6.5 RPG, and 6.1 APG; it’s not even close.

While Simmons is still viewed as that villain in the NBA, he’s starting to quiet the negative thoughts around him. If his past four games are a precursor of what’s to come, Simmons can be back on that All-Star level, just not this year.