Shaquille O'Neal calls out Nets' Ben Simmons with harsh ‘he’s afraid’ take

As the NBA season approaches, Hall-of-Famer Shaquille O'Neal has called out a plethora of players. This time, he went after Brooklyn Nets guard/forward Ben Simmons on a recent episode of The Big Podcast.

"Ben is sensitive right," O'Neal said. "He came in with a lot of hype, played nobody. When he got exposed, we saw it, right UD (Udonis Haslem)? We saw it. When he didn't want to shoot in Atlanta he kept passing the ball, and everybody was jumping on him. He got exposed."

O'Neal makes a valid point about Simmons's passive nature during the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals. Simmons had multiple open looks but refused due to his jump shot. It even went as far as costing the Philadelphia 76ers a shot at the Eastern Conference Finals. Simmons passed up an open dunk and swung the ball to a teammate. His confidence and swagger he had at LSU appeared nonexistent.

The former LSU standout has dealt with a number of injuries since that 2021 season. Knee and back injuries have kept him from playing consistently over the past three seasons. Still, before every season, Simmons posts a video or photos that goes viral about him shooting and being in top-tier basketball shape. Many fans claim that he's going to turn his career around and have a big year.

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Also, this isn't the first time of the NBA legend going off. O'Neal went on full not-safe-for-work mode and called out Simmons for his injuries. This time, the Inside the NBA co-host was more tame but made sure to emphasize his point.

"Now the back thing, I let that go the first year, I'm not letting that go three years in a row," O'Neal said. "This is 2024. You've got shots, you've got pills, you've got treatment, I don't want to hear that s—t. And I could tell when he came back and played, he's afraid of what people are going to say about him. He's still in shock mode."

Simmons has been unreliable on the court since that horrific playoff ending. He held out during the 2021-22 season, and was dealing with a back injury simultaneously. After that holdout and being traded to the Nets, life hasn't been easier for the Australian guard/forward.