The evolving Shaquille O'Neal and Ben Simmons feud took another twist as the former Lakers center revealed that Simmons contacted him via Instagram after O'Neal made some disparaging remarks on TNT's Inside the NBA program.
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O'Neal had called Simmons "soft" and kept referring to him as "the other guy" in his rant.
Shaq just destroyed Ben Simmons after talking about Embiid’s dominance. pic.twitter.com/O1AfZzApys
— Did The Sixers Win? (@DidTheSixersWin) January 28, 2022
"Great players get criticized. But the great players also step up to the criticism and perform. So this other guy, I don't respect him. I would get rid of him," O'Neal had said.
MORE: O'Neal blasts 76ers Ben Simmons
Considering the comments went viral, it was only natural that Simmons would hear about them, and once he did, he hit Shaq in his Instagram DM's with some not so friendly words, according to the Hall-of-Famer.
"He got in my DMs and said some things, I said some things back,” O’Neal said on The Big Podcast.
"He acting like a baby.”@Shaq went IN on Ben Simmons and says the Sixers star DM'd him mad for comments Shaq recently made on @NBAonTNT
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) February 3, 2022
More on #TheBigPodcast: https://t.co/v263O0hCCc pic.twitter.com/LGl9dtOYHJ
When asked what was said between the former LSU stars, O’Neal replied, “I don’t — I can’t do that” multiple times before noting that Simmons “was mad” in the messages.
“All I said is, ‘You’re leaving your man out there, you need to play.’ That’s all I said,” said O’Neal, referring to fellow 76ers star Joel Embiid.
“I realized this after I left LA,” he continued. “I don’t want to spend my whole career fighting for a useless title. ‘Shaq you the man. Shaq, this your team.’ In reality, what the f--- does all that mean? It don’t mean nothing. I could have won eight, nine championships with that man (Kobe Bryant) instead of us both arguing about whose team it is. Don’t fight over useless titles. Fight for each other.”
Simmons has not played for the 76ers since demanding a trade in the off-season.
He is currently sitting out until he is moved on, and the 76ers are adamant they will not take back cents on the dollar for their All-Star guard who is under contract until 2024-25 with the 76ers.
MORE: Simmons' fines pile up with missed games
Philadelphia is thriving in his absence, though. Currently, they sit in third (31-20) in the East, just one full game behind the Chicago Bulls and Miami Heat.
