In the 2021 playoffs, with the Philadelphia 76ers up by nine in the second round against Atlanta, a wide-open layup sat under the rim waiting to be taken. The player standing six inches above the basket with the ball in his hands passed it away instead. Stephen A. Smith has never let that moment go. Four years later, with reports surfacing that Ben Simmons wants back into the league, Smith decided the time had finally come to say what he really thinks.

Smith, on Monday, on his show, gave his harshest public assessment yet of Ben Simmons’ career.

“I don’t think Jesus could convince me to take Ben Simmons,” Smith said on the Stephen A. Smith Show. “And if I did, I’d do so begrudgingly, only because I’d be scared to go to hell. I think Ben Simmons is a basketball abomination. He is the only player that I have ever witnessed in NBA history who I believe should pay NBA teams to have him play, not the other way around.”

According to the Men’s Health profile, Simmons confirmed that he is plotting a return to the NBA after spending last season completely out of the league. “I plan on getting as strong as I can physically, getting my ass on the court, and then the team realizing that my abilities will be needed,” Simmons told Men’s Health.

Ben Simmons spent his most recent NBA season, 2024-25, with the Nets and Clippers, playing 51 games and averaging 5.0 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 22 minutes per game, a poor run from the All-Star stats that once made him the No. 1 overall pick. He has spent his year away from the league pursuing professional fishing.

The layup Stephen A. Smith mentioned, “scared to shoot layups in the playoffs against the Atlanta Hawks, layup right under the basket,” has become the defining image of Simmons’ Philadelphia career. Simmons refused to play for the Sixers after that second-round loss to Atlanta in 2021, a holdout that ended with him being traded to Brooklyn for James Harden in the middle of the 2021-22 season.

After the 76ers lost to the Hawks, Smith’s criticism became much harsher. He revealed what he described as information from someone close to the Sixers organization, saying that he had received a text saying Simmons, “doesn’t work, doesn’t listen, and everybody around him is family, and he’s constantly babied.” However, in August 2022, after meeting Simmons personally, Smith briefly softened his tone. “I ran into Ben Simmons… he and I had a nice conversation… the past is the past… he swears he is ready to go. I’m rooting for the brother.”

“Maybe I’ll Go Back to Philly,” What Simmons’ Reported Comeback Plan Actually Looks Like

Simmons told Men’s Health he has no fixed plan on which team he wants to play for, but named two organizations he would welcome: “I don’t have a plan on where. Maybe I’ll go back to Philly. Miami would be nice. And not because it’s Miami, I like Erik Spoelstra, I like the Heat, I like their organization, I like the culture.”

Philly will be a no-go due to his relationship with franchise star Joel Embiid. His relationship with Embiid got back publicly during the hold-out, with Embiid telling reporters: “The situation is weird, disappointing, borderline kind of disrespectful to all the guys that are out here fighting for their lives. Some guys rely on the team being successful to stay in the league and make money somehow.”

Erik Spoelstra’s Heat squad needs all the depth it can find after trading for Giannis Antetokounmpo, though Simmons’ inability to stretch the floor could give Miami pause, as his size and defensive versatility at 6-foot-10 would still make him a credible second-unit piece if his body cooperates.