The Brooklyn Nets were humbled by the Philadelphia 76ers to begin their NBA pre-season, but while former star James Harden stayed away from the court, Ben Simmons made his long awaited return.
Both the Nets and the 76ers have NBA Championship ambitions this season, but have been embroiled in drama away from the court. Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving were absent for large parts of last season due to both injury and vaccination issues, with Harden forcing a trade to the 76ers to escape the mayhem.
Simmons on the other hand completed a move to Brooklyn after struggling mentally and being left out the 76ers side. So of course it was poetic that the two would meet in their pre-season opener, although Harden didn't fancy returning to the Barclays Center just yet.
The 76ers travelled to Brooklyn for their first pre-season game, and won comfortably by a 127-108 scoreline. However, despite not appearing bothered about a quick return to his former side, Harden was left out by head coach Doc Rivers.
When initially quizzed on his return, Harden downplayed the situation by saying: "Nah, I mean … it’s just a preseason game." But he didn't feature, meaning we will have to wait until next time to see how Harden is appreciated by his former fans.
Fans were certainly behind Simmons though, who made his first appearance in 470 days. Simmons scored six points while sharing the court with Durant and Irving, and if they can build chemistry on the court then they have every chance this season.
Simmons became the most fined NBA player in history during his time in Philadelphia, and has since slammed his former side for 'not helping' with his mental struggles. The Australian asked to be traded at the end of the 2020/21 season but was not allowed to leave, and was then repeatedly fined for missing games until he revealed that it was due to him struggling.
The 26-year-old appeared on The Old Man & The Three podcast, hosted by former 76ers team-mate J.J. Redick, and opened up about his struggles. "I was in such a bad place where I was like, f***, I'm trying to get here and you guys are, like, throwing all these other things at me to where you're not helping.
"And that's all I wanted, was help. I didn't feel like I got it from coaches, teammates. I won't say all teammates, because there's great guys on that team that did reach out and are still my friends but I didn't feel like I got that, and it was just a tough place for me."
After Simmons was finally traded in February 2022, an injury stopped him from making his Nets debut, and it's taken until now to finally get out on the court. But there were promising signs from Simmons despite the heavy defeat to Philadelphia.
Simmons has been working hard over the summer, and has already hyped up the 'incredible' Durant and Irving. The trio combined for 28 points on Monday night, and will look to build before the season starts.
