Ben Simmons finally made his return to Philadelphia as a member of the Nets on Tuesday night. Brooklyn failed to get back to .500 after losing 116-105 to the 76ers, but Simmons continued his current hot streak on the floor. He also found some time to poke fun at Philly fans after the game.
Simmons posted his fourth straight game with 10-plus points. He finished the night with 11 points, 11 assists, seven rebounds, three steals, and three blocks. The former Sixer has shot 80.8% from the field over his last three games, too.
While he won the entire arena free Chick-fil-A by missing two free throws in the third quarter, he made his first two early on amidst plenty of boos. Those makes were punctuated by Simmons doing his best Michael Jordan impression afterward.
Here are both of those moments:
The crowd certainly seemed interested in his every move, and it sounded appropriately loud given the circumstances. But in chatting with the media during his postgame availability, Simmons said the following, which will surely get under the skin of some Sixers fans:
Ben Simmons on the reception he got from the crowd in Philly tonight:
"I thought it was going to be louder" pic.twitter.com/CGdd0WqnPO
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) November 23, 2022
It wasn’t all shade, though. Simmons spent time before the game chatting with the media, burying old rivalries, and signing autographs for fans:
"It was nice to have support in Philadelphia still. Lifelong fans, they do support me, so that was really cool to see. I think I did some things in Philadelphia that can be respected. I don't think we all had bad times"
– Ben Simmons on signing autographs pregame pic.twitter.com/6pD8aUozzq
— Nets Videos (@SNYNets) November 23, 2022
Outside of the loss, Ben Simmons is probably satisfied with how his return to Philly went. And in case you’re wondering, the next time the Nets hit the road to face the 76ers is on January 25th.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.