Ben Simmons fires back over his shot: “One airball goes viral”
One missed shot, a video on social media and the criticism starts all over again. Ben Simmons responds to the narratives that followed him even while he was away from the NBA
All it takes is one missed shot to start everything up again. Ben Simmons knows it well: over the past few years, every one of his jumpers has been analyzed, commented on and often turned into social media content. It is a situation the new Sacramento Kings player still does not understand.
Speaking about the criticism that followed him even during his year away from the NBA, Simmons used a viral airball as an example:
I shoot an airball, one of you posts it and that’s the one that goes viral… fuck, it happens
Ben Simmons
For Simmons, that is exactly the problem: taking one isolated moment and using it to fuel a much bigger narrative about his game and, above all, about the reasons that kept him off the court.
Simmons: “I had to deal with a lot of physical issues”
The three-time All-Star reiterated that his absence was not due to a lack of desire or interest in basketball. According to his version, the problem was much simpler:
The reality is that I had to deal with a lot of physical issues. Now I’m back on the court
Ben Simmons
It is a point Simmons had already emphasized at Kings Media Day, when he also responded strongly to those who had questioned his love for basketball in recent years.
Now, however, he wants the court to shift the conversation again. After an entire season away from the NBA, Simmons arrives in Sacramento saying he is finally free of physical limitations. The jumper will inevitably remain under the microscope, but this time Simmons wants everything he does around that shot to do the talking.