When it comes to fan bases, few are able to match the passion and intensity of the city of Philadelphia. This is definitely the case for the Philadelphia 76ers faithful, who are known to be somewhat overly critical even of their own players. For his part, former Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons himself has not been immune to the criticism of the Sixers fan base. Nevertheless, the 23-year-old has nothing but love for the city and its people.

“I love being in Philadelphia. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else,” he said, via ESPN. “I think this is the perfect place for me. I just handle (criticism) how it comes.”

Simmons even went on to say that he has grown to thrive in all the negativity, and that he has used this as motivation to make himself better.

“I had a terrible first game [in the first round of the 2019 Playoffs against the Brooklyn Nets] and I loved it when people are tweeting me saying all these negative things because the next game I came out [and played better],” Simmons said. “It kinda fires me up a little.”

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Nonetheless, the Australian national did admit that he finds it extremely difficult not to pay attention to all the outside noise, and that he has just learned how to best deal with it.

“It's hard to avoid. It's hard to not see,” Simmons said. “I've done a better job of not watching certain things in terms of what people are saying, but that was a good example of people not giving me positive feedback and I had to respond.”

Simmons appears to have adjusted well to life in the City of Brotherly Love, and it seems that he's going to be around for a very long time.