Ben Simmons has criticised the Philadelphia 76ers for not giving him the mental health help he required.
The point guard sat out the entirety of last season while dealing with mental health struggles and his time with the Sixers, who drafted him as the first overall pick in 2016, came to an end in February.
A trade with the Brooklyn Nets was completed at the February trade deadline, with James Harden moving in the opposite direction.
Simmons has now claimed he did not get the support he needed from his former team when speaking on JJ Redick's 'Old Man and the Three' podcast.
"I was in such a bad place where I was like, f***, I'm trying to get here and you guys are, like, throwing all these other things at me to where you're not helping. And that's all I wanted, was help," he said.
"I didn't feel like I got (help) from coaches, team-mates, I won't say all team-mates, because there are great guys on that team that did reach out and are still my friends. But I didn't feel like I got that, and it was just a tough place for me."
Simmons also believes the team did not handle things correctly, though he admits he must shoulder some responsibility, and cited Doc Rivers' approach that ultimately led to Simmons' suspension.
"I actually spoke to Doc before practice. I was like, 'Doc, I'm not ready. Mentally, I'm not ready. Please just understand that,'" he added.
"I tried to let him know prior, and he was like, 'Well, I'm going to put you in anyway.' I'm like, 'All right.' He told me to get in. I looked at him. It was like one minute into practice, like, 'Ben, get in.'
"I'm like, first of all, no one's doing that. You're doing this on purpose. And that's how I felt, too. It seems like everyone's trying to f*** with me now. I'm getting fined for not lifting weights, but physically I'm one of the strongest guys on the team.
"So now they're fining me for little things. It was just a build-up. Obviously, I didn't handle things the right way, but, also, the team didn't either, and the people who had that power."
Currently carrying an injury, Simmons is expected to be ready for the start of training camp and is excited to join his new team-mates, sharing his belief they can go all the way.
"It's going to be sick. I can't wait. I'm so excited. Got a new number, new jersey. I'm just looking forward to it," he declared.
"I think we have a special team. I think if we get it all together, we're going to be the champions. That's the end goal."
Porzingis to miss Celtics' in-season tournament quarter-final due to calf injury
Kristaps Porzingis will be absent as the Boston Celtics aim to seal their place in the last four of the NBA's in-season tournament.
Porzingis has missed the Celtics' last three games after sustaining a calf injury in a defeat to the Orlando Magic on November 24.
And the Latvian, who joined Boston from the Washington Wizards in the off-season, will not recover in time to face the Indiana Pacers on Monday.
Porzingis is averaging 18.9 points, just slightly below his career average (19.6), across his 15 games this season. Tyrese Hailburton, meanwhile, is a doubt for the Pacers.
The winner of Monday's quarter-final will head to Las Vegas for the semi-finals.
Harden hopes for turning point as Clippers overturn 22-point deficit against Warriors
After the Los Angeles Clippers fought back from 22 points down for an improbable win over the Golden State Warriors, James Harden said it must serve as a turning point in their difficult season.
The Clippers were staring at back-to-back losses to their neighbours at 70-48 down in the third quarter, just one day after suffering a 120-114 defeat against the same opponents at Chase Center.
However, the Clippers outscored the Warriors 65-42 the rest of the way, with Paul George sinking a decisive three-pointer in the final 10 seconds as they claimed a 113-112 victory.
The Clippers, who have alternated between defeat and victory in their last six games, are now 9-10 after a troubled start to 2023-24.
Former NBA MVP Harden believes he is now beginning to strike up an understanding with fellow stars George and Kawhi Leonard, and he hopes the Clippers can kick on from here.
"Wow, 22…. we don't want to keep going up and down," Harden said when he was made aware of the size of the Warriors' lead.
"We want to be consistent. I told [George] and [Leonard] before the game, 'let's catch our rhythm'. Let's be good, like we're going to be later in the season. Let's start it now."
George finished with a game-high 25 points, also adding six rebounds and six assists, while Harden and Leonard finished with 21 and 20 points respectively.
"It's big," Leonard said of the win. "We've been trying to be consistent.
"We are getting better, but very slowly… You know, with how things have been going, it feels great to pull out a win."
New father Doncic exhausted after NBA-record run not enough for Mavs
Luka Doncic said he was simply exhausted after the Dallas Mavericks failed to capitalise on an NBA-record 30-point run in Saturday's "rollercoaster" defeat to the Oklahoma City Thunder.
A depleted Mavericks side found themselves facing a 24-point deficit at one stage, but Doncic played a talismanic role to drag his team back into contention.
Dallas took the lead with a 30-0 run in the fourth quarter, the best in the NBA in the PXP era (since 1996-97), which took them from 111-87 down to 117-111 up.
Doncic finished with a game-high 36 points while also adding 15 rebounds and 18 assists, but his terrific performance wasn't enough as the Thunder rallied again for a 126-120 victory.
Having played his part in a thrilling contest one day after becoming a father for the first time on Friday, Doncic struggled to hide his fatigue.
"It was the happiest day of my life with the baby, but then today's game was a big rollercoaster too," Doncic said after the game.
"I'm so sad we didn't win this game, but man, we gave a big, big effort. I was a little bit exhausted."
Doncic was frustrated by his finish to the game after committing two turnovers in the last 87 seconds, with the first the result of a travelling call which infuriated the four-time All-Star.
"My view is it probably was a travel, but those travels happen about, in my opinion, 20 times a game," he said.
"So a minute and a half to go, if you're going to call that travel for the first time in the game… you can't do that.
"I don't think so. I think those travels happen a lot of times in one game and the NBA doesn't call the travels, so I was really surprised."
The Mavericks are now 11-8 after suffering back-to-back defeats, and they will look to respond when they welcome the Utah Jazz to American Airlines Center on Wednesday.
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