The Brooklyn Nets were swept out of the first round of the playoffs by the Philadelphia 76ers, and Ben Simmons was trolled by NBA Twitter over an old tweet.
The Brooklyn Nets dealt with a lot of drama throughout this season, highlighted by Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant requesting and receiving trades by the team.
Even with the loss of both stars, the Nets were able to avoid the play-in tournament to clinch the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. That earned them a first-round series against the No. 3 Philadelphia 76ers, and looked to win their first playoff series since the 2020-21 season.
Unfortunately for the Nets, that was not the case. Even though they did put up a fight, they were swept in the first-round the 76ers after losing Game 4, 96-88.
After the game, NBA Twitter dug up an old tweet by Nets guard Ben Simmons, who didn’t play in the series, which read “watching my team get swept hurt, and I don’t ever want to feel that way again.”
Now, let’s take a look at some of the reactions from those who found the tweet from 2020.
NBA Twitter trolls Ben Simmons over old tweet after Nets swept by 76ers
At the time of that tweet, the 76ers were swept by the Boston Celtics in the first-round of the playoffs in the Orlando, Fla. bubble. He missed the playoffs due to a knee injury.
Following the 2020-21 season in which the 76ers lost in the second-round to the Atlanta Hawks, Simmons expressed his desire to not play for the team any more. After sitting out the following season, he was ultimately dealt to the Nets in the James Harden trade. But, Simmons didn’t play for Brooklyn that playoffs due to a back injury that required him to get surgery after the season. The Nets were swept in the first-round by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Celtics.
This year, Simmons played in 42 games, where he averaged 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.3 steals while recording a 56.6 field goal percentage. He last played on Feb. 15 against the Miami Heat, but was sidelined due to a back issue. It was later revealed that he had a nerve impingement in his back, and by the end of March, head coach Jacques Vaughn announced that Simmons was out for the remainder of the season.
Not an ideal way for the past two seasons to end for Simmons. Now, all eyes will be on the 2023-24 season for the Nets to see if they can make a run in the playoffs.