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Ben Simmons was once a promising star for the Philadelphia 76ers. In his tenure with the team, he tallied 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists per game on 56.0% shooting from the field. He was also selected to the NBA All-Star thrice and an All-NBA third team.
However, everything went downhill since the 2021 NBA playoffs that saw Simmons put up an epic blunder against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. He was making headlines for all the wrong reasons and was eventually kicked out of the 76ers.
Simmons has battled back injuries and mental health issues over these past seasons. In his recent season with the Nets, he only appeared in 42 games and managed just 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists per game on 56.6% shooting from the field.
Seeing his regression, NBA Hall of Famer and media personality Charles Barkley now weighed in on Simmons’ future in the league and set it straight that the 2023-24 NBA season might be his last year in the NBA.
“If you look at it, he’s probably ruined his career,” Barkley said. “He’s got this psychological block now when he’s scared to shoot the ball. He’s got another year of $40 million a year, he’s got at least one more year to try and get it right. If he plays like he did this year when he’s afraid to shoot the ball, scared to shoot free throws, this might be his last year in the NBA.”
