Philly Fans Can't Wait To Show Ben Simmons Some 'Brotherly Love' During Thursday's Sixers-Nets Game
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- The boo birds will be out in South Philly on Thursday night. Ben Simmons makes his return to the Wells Fargo Center as a Brooklyn Net.
And although he won't actually be playing, it's sure to be an electric night.
It won't be pleasant for the former No. 1 overall pick.
Simmons will not play against his former team on Thursday but he will reportedly be in the building on the bench and he will hear it from nearly 20,000 screaming Sixers fans.
When you think about it, Simmons may be the biggest villain in the history of Philadelphia sports.
Since the Sixers drafted him No. 1 overall in 2016, he's shown a lot of promise and potential, but he also struggled to shoot, especially in the big moments.
Philly fans will never forget his poor performance in the playoffs last year, capped off by the wide-open dunk he passed up with his team trailing in the fourth quarter of Game 7 against the Atlanta Hawks.
Rather than work on his craft and try to silence the critics, Simmons demanded a trade out of town, which was finally granted in February in a deal that landed the Sixers former MVP James Harden.
Sixers fans have been waiting for months to show Simmons some "brotherly love" as an opponent.
"Ben Simmons can go to hell," Nolan Lawrence said. "If I had a jersey, which I would never buy a Ben Simmons jersey for when he was here, I would still burn it tomorrow. So good luck Ben Simmons, you're gonna need it."
"He's going to get booed so loud. He's probably going to walk out the stadium," one man said.
"All the hate he's getting, he deserves," Sam Haddon said. "I mean, he's a bum. I mean, seriously, an NBA player who can't shoot free throws, are you kidding me? I got an 80-year-old cousin who can knock down a free throw and he can't. You kidding me? He doesn't deserve to touch a cheesesteak again the rest of his life."
"I think he should be booed out the building," Dakee, of Camden, said. "I think he should be literally booed out of Philadelphia to the point where he feels uncomfortable sitting on the sideline."
Things got a little spicier on social media.
Barstool Philly replied to its own Instagram post about Simmons sitting on the bench for Thursday's game saying "can't wait."
Simmons then responded by saying "likewise."
There are still some tickets available for tonight's game, but they're not cheap.
According to StubHub, standing room only starts at $141 and the most expensive seats are going for nearly $20,000.
CBS3's Ross DiMattei and Alecia Reid contributed to this report.
