ESPN personality Stephen A. Smith isn’t exactly thrilled about Ben Simmons returning to the NBA for the 2026-27 season.
Simmons, a three-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year, has agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Sacramento Kings. The former No. 1 pick from LSU missed all of the 2025-26 season due to back and leg injuries. Apparently, he’s healthy enough to give his pro career another shot.
Prior to his fallout with the Philadelphia 76ers, Simmons was considered an elite playmaker in the NBA, averaging 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. His production has fallen off a cliff since 2022 though.
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During this Friday’s episode of “First Take,” Smith offered his thoughts on Simmons joining the Kings for the upcoming season. Let’s just say he wasn’t in the mood to hand out compliments.
“This brother can do everything but shoot – he was something special,” Smith said. “But somehow, someway, something happened to this dude’s mental and he treated taking a shot as if you asked him to be on the front lines in Afghanistan.”
Smith wasn’t done ripping Simmons’ one-year deal with the Kings.
“Now that he’s back in the league, here’s what the problem is: it’s a one-year deal. How come he isn’t paying Sacramento? He should be paying them to let him play. It should be in reverse.”
Stephen A. Smith isn’t a huge fan of Ben Simmons.
Back in 2024, Smith questioned Simmons’ passion for the game.
“He don’t want to play,” Smith said. “He don’t love the game. He don’t love the game. I’m not saying he wasn’t injured, but I’m talking about an absence of love for the game. Remember, he was missing games before he was injured.”
Simmons later fired back at Smith and all his critics who ripped the trajectory of his career.
“That’s them making s— up,” Simmons said. “Like, imagine if I just said like, name whoever, and said whatever. It doesn’t hold any weight, you know? Like, where does it come from? It’s just their thought, it’s their opinion, and everyone’s entitled to their opinion, but I’ve been doing this my whole life since I was four years old. So nothing is going to change that. Yeah, nothing’s just going to change that out of nowhere.”
Maybe, just maybe, Simmons will silence his critics this upcoming season.
