Sixers Blown Out By The Nets, Ben Simmons Booed!

It was a good environment to start,” Nets star Kevin Durant said. “It didn’t finish that way.”

Making his first appearance in Philadelphia since requesting a trade over the summer, Simmons was showered with boos from a fan base that had waited over nine months to express its frustration to him following his rough performance during an unexpected playoff exit at the hands of the Atlanta Hawks last May in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The jeers rained down on Simmons from the moment he set foot on the floor during pregame warm-ups. The former All-Star spent about 20 minutes helping warm up Patty Mills, rebounding and passing to the veteran guard.

The only time Sixers fans cheered with Simmons on the floor was when he threw down a dunk in the midst of warming up Mills. Simmons passed up an open dunk in Game 7 against the Hawks, a play that was replayed throughout the summer and seen as a major breaking point in his relationship with the Sixers and their fan base.

Simmons, who was sent to Brooklyn along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two future first-round picks in exchange for James Harden and Paul Millsap at last month’s trade deadline, walked back on the floor as the Sixers were being introduced just before the game. Once the introductions were complete and the lights in the building came back on, fans started to realize Simmons was on the Nets’ bench and booed loudly once more.

Abe Finklestein