Ben Simmons’ infamously toxic exit from the Philadelphia 76ers is extremely well-known by this point, but a new report suggests Simmons actually tried to clean things up recently with his former star teammate.
Simmons reached out to Joel Embiid and others during the offseason to try to mend fences, according to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. It was unclear from the story if his efforts were successful or not.
Simmons infamously fell out with many in Philadelphia back in 2021, when he demanded a trade from the 76ers and refused to play for them. At that time, Embiid made it clear he had tried to make Simmons comfortable, but was effectively finished with Simmons once those efforts did not bear fruit. Embiid never seemed to warm up to Simmons again, even after Simmons was traded.
In contrast, Simmons had always been a bit warmer toward Embiid, at least publicly, even if those feelings were never reciprocated.
Simmons has never really recovered after his controversial exit from Philadelphia, and is averaging just 5.3 points per game this season to go with 6.5 assists and 5.7 rebounds. He and Embiid are unlikely to ever be best friends, but Simmons would seemingly at least appreciate them not being enemies. Embiid might not care, as he has more pressing problems to deal with these days.
