Ben Simmons‘ last game with thePhiladelphia 76ers will go down in infamy. The team blew a chance to get past the Atlanta Hawks, and Simmons literally refused to score a point-blank, wide-open dunk that wound up shifting all momentum.
Following the loss, Doc Rivers did what he does best whenever his team loses in the playoffs or any big game, which is to blame the players. He stated that he didn’t know whether Simmons could be a starting point guard on a championship-caliber team.
That was the beginning of the end for Simmons in the City of Brotherly Love, eventually forcing his way out to the Brooklyn Nets after a long saga. Now, years later, Rivers finally admitted that he was wrong to do so.
Doc Rivers Finally Takes Some Blame For The Ben Simmons Saga
“I had a terrible press conference after that Game 7,” Rivers told ESPN. “We lost. I said something — I meant something different, but it was taken differently. That started it. Then Joel [Embiid] had a bad press conference.”
The coach added that Simmons’ divorce with the organization could’ve happened regardless. Even so, the fact that he contributed to his discontent and departure wasn’t a good look for him:
“I don’t know if the whole Ben thing was going to happen regardless, but I didn’t like me being a part of that,” Rivers admitted. “So your first thing is, how can I handle that better? How can I answer that question better?”
Recently, former NBA player JJ Redick called Rivers out for constantly throwing his players under the bus and not being accountable for his shortcomings. Needless to say, Simmons may agree with him.
SURVEY Was Rivers to blame for Simmons\' departure?
Was Rivers to blame for Simmons\' departure?
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