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Philadelphia 76ers sensation Ben Simmons is one who likes to have his game do all the talking. So much so, that former Sixers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce claims that the 22-year-old Australian would much rather drop a triple-double than engage in any in-game smack talk.
“You start barking at Ben, he just smiles,” says Pierce, via Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN. “He uses different forms of engaging with the opponent. There's no ‘I'm the guy.' He'll just go drop a triple-double and say nothing.”
This is actually a very refreshing narrative given how trash talking has become second nature to the sport of basketball. The league has indeed tried to cut down on this particular aspect of the game by implementing specific (and costly) rules to address it, but totally eliminating it from the context of the sport would be close to impossible. Besides, a little smack talk never hurt anybody, right?
Simmons, for his part, appears to be the epitome of a silent assassin. He's not one to keep talking smack all game long, but will make sure that he kills his opponents through his (more often than not) spectacular performances.
With teammate Joel Embiid on the opposite side of the Sixers' Batman and Robin duo, the flamboyant big man more than makes up for Simmons' lack of trash talking.
Ben Simmons and the Sixers are set to face arch-rivals Boston Celtics on opening night, and there's definitely going to be a lot of mind games going on throughout the buildup and during the game itself. Don't expect Simmons to engage in any of the smack talk, but chances are, he's going to be on top of the box score once it's all said and done.
