Ben Simmons finally found a shot that he won’t pass up — a shot at Shaquille O’Neal for dissing him.
The retired basketball great O’Neal had a harsh criticism of the Philadelphia 76ers star Simmons on a recent episode of TNT’s “Inside the NBA.” In his comments, O’Neal called Simmons a “crybaby.” You can see the video of O’Neal’s full remarks here.
This week on “The Big Podcast with Shaq,” O’Neal revealed that Simmons actually sent him a DM on social media to confront him over the criticism.
“He kinda got in my DM and said some things, and I said some things back,” said O’Neal.
“All I said is, ‘You leaving your man [Joel Embiid] out there. You need to play,’” O’Neal added. “That’s all I said. And he said some things. But I’m not gonna elaborate what he said because that’s not cool … He was mad. He was probably mad because I’m his LSU brother. And I am, I’m still his brother.”
Simmons has not played for the 76ers all season as he continues to hold out, recently surpassing five months since he asked them for a trade. We recently heard that Simmons reportedly has one major issue with Embiid as well.
For O’Neal, his shtick as an analyst is that he criticizes virtually every single NBA player under the sun. With Simmons specifically, O’Neal went at him even before the recent “crybaby” comments. Simmons apparently decided that this time was finally enough and confronted O’Neal through the DMs.
Photo: May 20, 2015; Atlanta, GA, USA; Former NBA player and current TNT television personality Shaquille O’Neal prior to game one of the Eastern Conference Finals of the NBA Playoffs between the Atlanta Hawks and the Cleveland Cavaliers at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
