Ben Simmons and Patrick Beverley Exchange Words After Kings Signing

If it were not obvious that the NBA world has something against Ben Simmons before, it sure is now. Even after the former first-overall pick fought back from health problems, both physical and mental, to earn another opportunity in the league with the Sacramento Kings, he has been heavily criticized.

Former veteran guard Patrick Beverley, who has one of the loudest voices in current NBA media, used his podcast to call out Simmons, claiming he "quit" and is now being gifted an opportunity to come back.

"I don’t think it’s fair that you can quit the game of basketball and come back," Beverley said. "Like, you can quit with not having a ton of success. You can quit because the game is hard and it’s stressful, you’re not playing well, and the fans are on you and the media is on you. You can quit and have an opportunity to come back? ... I’m not with quitting when it’s hard at the time because 'I’m not playing right, I don’t feel right, everywhere I go it’s an issue and excuse.' "

Ben Simmons 💭 thoughts Youtube-PatBevShow pic.twitter.com/QEOQTph4X2
— Patrick Beverley (@patbev21) September 9, 2026

Of course, this narrative that Beverley spins is already unfair. He claims that Victor Oladipo should've gotten an opportunity before Simmons, saying, "We’ve been looking at Victor Oladipo, who’s been competing, who went to the G League, workout in front of a ton of coaches and GMs and writing letters. This is the guy you pick!"

So, the player who has not appeared in an NBA game since the 2022-23 season deserves a chance over the player who took a one-year break to get healthy? Of course, Oladipo was also dealing with injuries, but how is their situation any different? The Kings took a chance on Simmons because they believe he can impact the game more than Oladipo, and 99% of fans would agree.

Simmons fires back at Beverley

This entire argument by Beverley does not make sense, and Simmons certainly let him hear it by responding in Instagram comments.

"Walk away....?? I played two years not physically right. This ain’t no handout. I worked my a-- off to be in this position… And I’m very grateful to be in position to play the game I f-----g love! Y’all will continue to make up stories for your own benefits and that’s more telling about who y'all are," Simmons responded (via @leaguealerts).

Ben Simmons calls out Pat Bev 😳

(h/t @CourtsideBuzzX ) pic.twitter.com/hyd9IFdc9U
— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) September 11, 2026

Simmons obviously did not just "walk away" from the NBA. He tried to play through mental and physical injuries for a few years, as we saw with the Brooklyn Nets and L.A. Clippers, before ultimately deciding he needed a year off. Not to mention, it sounds like the year off is exactly what he needed, with a growing expectation that he could look as good as ever for the Kings this season.

Simmons has fallen into the trap of being a punching bag for NBA media, never fully recovering from when he infamously passed up an open dunk in the 2021 playoffs. No other player would be so scrutinized for making a legitimate NBA comeback after his career was derailed by health concerns, and they would likely even view this as a non-issue if he signed with a big-market franchise rather than the Kings.

Simmons certainly has a chip on his shoulder this season, and for a Kings team that needs a bit of fire, this signing could be exactly what they need.

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