Shaquille O'Neal has mocked his fellow alumni for the money he has made while sitting on the sidelines at games over recent seasons. Simmons, 27, has played a career-low 15 games this year and will not add to that total because of a nerve impingement in his lower back. The ruled out the 2016 No. 1 overall pick for the remainder of the season earlier this month. A three-time All-Star, Simmons has since undergone a microscopic partial discectomy. After the 2021-22 season, which the sat out the entirety of, citing mental health reasons before the back issues, he also underwent a similar microdiscectomy surgery to remove a small fragment of a herniated disc. However, has not extended Simmons any sympathy after the latest setback despite them being the only two No. 1 overall picks from LSU in league history. After hearing that Simmons would miss the rest of the season live on Inside the NBA, O'Neal began crumpling paper as host Earnie Johnson Jr. read the news during the broadcast. Now, weeks later, on the that he hosts with TNT's Adam Lefkoe, O'Neal mocked Simmons without being prompted. Asked by Lefkoe to name the players he would pay to watch for their entertainment factor, he immediately replied: "Ben Simmons." His co-host and the episode's guest Jamal Crawford scoffed as O'Neal explained his reasoning. "Because I would wanna learn how you can make $80 million and play 55 games," he clarified. "Teach me. Teach me how you can f***ing play 55 games in three seasons and get $30m, $40m, and get another $40m just by saying your back hurt. "Get some f***ing icy hot, man up." Simmons has played marginally more games than O'Neal gave him credit for, taking to the court 57 times over the last three seasons. However, if he does not suit up again this season, as expected, he will have missed 189 games since last playing for the in Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals. As O'Neal also addressed, Simmons earned over $100 million in salary during that time. He also stands to earn another $40 million next season in the final year of the max deal Philadelphia signed him to during the 2019 offseason that kicked in after his rookie contract expired in the summer of 2020. But despite the persistent back problems, Simmons seems settled in Brooklyn, or at least on the East Coast. He intimated that stance in a press release shared as his $17.5 million mansion in
Los Angeles heads to auction. “This is a beautiful home that I’ve enjoyed, but because I spend most of my time on the East Coast, sadly, it often goes unused,” Simmons said. “It’s time to move on.” The property has been on the market since 2022.