Ben Simmons Opens Up About The 76ers Holdout, His Shooting Struggles, The Hawks Series & More

Ben Simmons Opens Up About The 76ers Holdout, His Shooting Struggles, The Hawks Series & More

The Old Man and The Three is BACK with an incredible interview with JJ’s old Philadelphia 76ers teammate and current Brooklyn Net, Ben Simmons. This is Ben’s first long-form interview in a couple of years so there’s a lot to get to. You won’t want to miss this one.

Topics include:

-What JJ and and Tommy have been up to since the break.
-The chemistry that Ben and JJ developed as teammates.
-Ben’s often overlooked skills on the defensive end and his passing.
-The shooting narrative surrounding Ben in The NBA.
-Falling in love with basketball at an early age.
-His time at LSU.
-Dealing with negativity from media and fans online.
-The story of someone taking video and heckling him in a candy store.
-His mental health struggles over the last few years.
-Why he held out on The Philadelphia 76ers.
-Doc Rivers kicking him out of practice.
-His last playoff series in Philadelphia against The Atlanta Hawks.
-A detailed explanation as to why he passed up the wide open dunk on Trae Young.
-What he’s looking forward to most about playing with Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and The Brooklyn Nets.
-And so much more.

Subscribe to The Old Man and The Three podcast w/ JJ Redick (ESPN / First Take) and Tommy Alter YouTube channel today for more NBA analysis and player interviews.

We have a lot of great conversations dropping soon so be sure to subscribe to The Old Man and The Three wherever you get your podcasts to be notified when new episodes drop.

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48 Responses

  1. JJ Redick says:

    Just wanted to pop by and say thanks for watching. This is one of the best conversations we’ve had on the pod and we’re thrilled to be able to share it with everyone. We’ve got some great guests coming on soon so be sure to subscribe to the channel if you haven’t already. Thanks again for watching.

  2. Arthur Brémond says:

    Can’t believe we’re finally gonna hear Simmons’ side of the story

  3. Mike Korzemba says:

    Thank you to all of you for shedding more light to this entire situation and bringing the attention that is DESERVED to the mental health discussion. You are truly changing things, it is incredible to see 🙏

  4. Shaq says:

    5:12 INTERVIEW STARTS
    19:50 PLAYIN WIT BEN
    22:55 NOT RESPONDING TO CRITICS
    23:50 GOIN VIRAL FOR SHOOTIN 3’S IN VEGAS
    25:00 SHOOTIN 3’S FOR NETS
    25:30 PLAYIN IN PHILLY
    27:00 THE PROCESS
    29:00 RAPTORS SERIES
    32:25 FALLIN IN LOVE W/ BASKETBALL
    34:00 LSU/COLLEGE TALK
    36:00 DRAFT NIGHT
    37:40 ROOKIE YEAR
    38:40 ’22 #1 PICK INJURY
    39:40 ROOKIE YEAR BEEF W/ MITCHELL
    41:50 BREAK FROM NBA
    42:45 FITTING IN WITH NETS
    44:55 BEING TRADED
    45:40 LEAVING GROUP TEXT
    46:25 BACK INJURY
    51:55 BEING PRANKED AT CANDY STORE
    53:55 KEEPING INJURIES SECRET
    57:20 HAWKS SERIES / MENTAL HEALTH
    1:00:30 SIXERS PRACTICE / FEUD
    1:04:40 HAWKS SERIES NOT TAKIN DUNK/SHOT
    1:06:00 LOOKING BACK

  5. BL Wilson says:

    I’m so happy JJ did this interview. Asked the questions that we all wanted answered and, through that, showed the bias the media has had toward Ben for the past 2 years. Praying for a great season for Ben to prove the haters wrong

  6. rainey06au says:

    This was incredible. He speaks well, he sounds like he’s in a good place, I’m excited for that first game.

  7. Kelvin McNeil says:

    This interview alone shows JJ’s ability to not only build long lasting relationships but also bring out the human side of these players. It’s so much easier to ask the difficult questions when theirs mutual respect.

    • Nicholas M says:

      It’s easy to be friendly when you don’t challenge people. Ben needs to be challenged and not babied. Hes a young man making more money than any of us will in our lifetime, but we should feel sorry for him?

    • vanescenze says:

      @luis placchetta its not hate. jj didnt even ask the important questions about ben’s weaknesses in his game. letting stuff slide as usual.

    • Rickie B says:

      Ben continues to push the blame on other people and not himself

    • Rickie B says:

      No all he did was ask questions as a friend. He didn’t ask any hard questions. Pretty dumb interview imo.. nothing real all the same media bs

    • Jose Lopez says:

      @luis placchetta calling someone out is hating? No wonder you young dudes be soft af looking up to Ben simmons lol

  8. Yuri says:

    This gane against Cleveland in 2018 Simmons had 27, 15 and 13, on 70% FG%. Monster game. Not to mention his defense. He is underrated.

    • Chima Ebinama says:

      I think he’s appropriately rated. He’s consistently an above average player. He’s not a superstar or star level player that can carry team, but he’s a good player that’s most effective when he’s not regularly the primary or even secondary player on offense. I’m not a fan of his after I realized he wouldn’t ever live up to his expectations, but I do know what he does well, and I agree the Nets are the perfect fit for him.

    • Steve's Fair Game says:

      Nah he’s not underrated, this is what we KNOW Ben can do regularily……
      He was….and is compared to Lebron

    • Ayo says:

      are u crazy

    • Malcolm says:

      is that the game bron dropped 40? my boss took us to that game

    • A P says:

      That was also for seeding rights against lebron. He had a crazy run those last like 15 games

  9. Lucas Asfora says:

    That was wonderful JJ. Happy to see Ben smile after all this time. This goes way beyond basketball. I’m a hardcore philly fan (from France), so I hope the nets aren’t too good this year. But seeing you guys talk so openly and with trust was a wonderful experience that made my day. Ben, you’re a hell of an athlete, you have all the talent and the skills to be a perenial all-star. All the best to you in your future. And bravo to JJ for an honest interview with difficult questions that many would have been afraid to ask. 10/10

  10. Marcus Rondo says:

    That Philly team was so stacked. Really wanted to see them run it back.

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