"Ben Simmons Is The Antithesis of Everything Allen Iverson Personified" | Stephen A. Smith 

Having spent several years living in Philadelphia, I can fully agree with everything SAS spoke in this video. Allen Iverson answered the challenges, no matter how insurmountable it seemed, with all his effort and that effort was seen through the eyes of not just Philly fans but basketball fans in general. And that's why he's so revered - a small man in a world dominated by giants but still left as big of an impact, if not more, than those giants. Even to the point where some of those giants had to begrudgingly accept that the littlest man on the court had the biggest heart out of everyone.

Comparing Ben Simmons to AI reminds me of that good old saying “Not the size of the dog in the fight. Its about the size of the fight in the dog”

The way SAS articulates his words and structures them is actually crazy

A reminder that Philly had just such a player in Jimmy Buckets and let him walk.

Damn listening to Stephen A without the (entertaining) hysterics hits different.

Six minutes of straight facts from Stephen A. Appreciate this interview.

Stephen A. made a good point there “Its most of us”. Its true, social media might be one of the worst social norms in modern history.

I write for a living in the media world and man, just listening to Stephen A has legit made me a better writer. The way he structures his thoughts and arguments and stories is next level. Top tier pro when he’s in an environment like this one.

AI never quit, never sat out, played hurt, and gave a million percent every time he stepped on the court. Ben Simmons is like the bizzaro AI

Kobe said everyone was lucky that AI wasn’t 6’5 he said it would have been a wrap

Good to hear people finally saying the truth about Ben Simmons

His usage rate was crazy too he played 40 mins all 82 games

This is also the reason Philly loved Jimmy Butler so much in such a short time. There's a pit bull mentality. If NYC is about the glitz & the glamor, Philly is about embracing the glitz & the grime. Once Joel started saying that "trust the process" gimmick when noone had any reason to believe in this overweight & injured dude who didn't even play his first 2 years, and then he delivered on that process.. He was made for Philly as well.

Title of this video is the most savage dig at Ben Simmons I have yet to see. To literally call him the opposite of everything AI was and stood for 😂 That’s just next level criticism right there

Stephen A's public speaking skills are off the chart. Such a great and a smart speaker. Senegal, West Africa.

The parallel between Iverson and the city Of Philly was brilliant 👏 👍 People don't give Stephen A. Smith his due man 💯💪👍

The way he broke down Allen Iverson vs Ben Simmons was crazy! WOW! I never thought about it like that. But it makes so much sense.

Stephen A. has always been at his best when discussing A.I.

As a life long cowboy fan and dallas fan. I rooted for phily and Iverson. Dude always played wih heart and kept playing injured. People want to say kyrie better nah not even close. Couldn't imagine Iverson in this era with this much spacing. Dirk too

bringing stephen A as a guest was such a great call

stephen A really went poetic on this one. When he's calmer the man can really speak

Probably one of the truest things from start to finish Stephen A had ever said. Especially when Speaking on philly, Iverson and philly

the last half of the video was some of the best social commentary i’ve heard or read in a long time.

Put AI’s spirit in Simmons’ body and you’d have a top 5 player ALL-TIME. No question.

And he was only in DC for 2 years in college at Georgetown and he's as popular and beloved as almost any former Hoya.

Need more Stephan A like this! Great take

Missed a golden opportunity to misquote the title: Stephen A Smith: "Ben Simmons is a coward."

Allen Iverson and JJ Redick were my two favorite basketball players of all-time. Remember seeing Stephen A Smith on The Awnser documentary long before he was on ESPN

A.I. is my favourite player and for me the GOAT, I had so much fun watchin' him alongside Kobe, T-Mac and many others who carried the league after MJ was gone. A.I. was a game changer and culture of the NBA.

Antithesis… 🤔 Thank you again for the vocab upgrade Stephen A 🤝🏾

Best episode ever

I love this description of my hometown. SAS nailed it here.

"coward" is the key word here.. You cannot be scared IN GAME 7 to dunk a basketball in the clutch with Dr J and AI sitting courtside.. That is totally unacceptable to this fan base.. You can't play here if you gonna be scared.. You just cant. We dont understand cowards... You cant be here.. you gotta get out

the philly underdog sentiment did not start with AI, it started with the movie Rocky and then continued, for crying out loud, they played video of the movie every game. AI fit right in, undersized, he was a warrior, inch for inch and pound for pound, the best in the league.

I normally don't like when Stephen A talks Basketball ball but the man made a good point today

I love Stephen A I don't get why people be so sensitive over his takes ...I enjoy them..I have an uncle that acts just like him 😂

I love how Stephen A. is sitting in a taller chair. So they have to look up at him. That’s so petty. 😂😂😂 There’s even a chair behind him that looks more comfortable…

SAS ... a treasure of knowledge... so different though from his First take persona ... gotta give credit to JJ Redick for these bits of interview

Damn SAS that Allen Iverson is what Philly was all about, you damn sure right. He didn’t give af about what nobody thought about him same way we rock as a city

5:56 ouuuuuuu i love this one right here this is to everyday life

This the most I’ve seen his co- host smile, he really respects Stephen A

Dam JJ you got the best of SAS he was really droppin jewels on this one that was really good..

The first time in the past 2 years that I actually liked something Stephen A has said. Didn’t see that coming

I absolutely love this show! GG, keep it up JJ! 🏀🔥

What a great quote

I’m from Philly-Stephen A is off base. We don’t believe Simmons is a coward. We know he’s a coward.

I can see now why every single athlete HATES the media.

what you did with the headline here is soooooo funny considering the conversation lmfao

Great point by Stephen A for once here at the end. I think u mistake how many watch the subject at hand though. You dont need clickbait.

Well said

damn... that was one of SA Smith's best responses, that I've ever heard.

100% accurate take

So glad I grew up with A.I in the NBA.

Steven A . speaks the truth, he knows Philly , Being from Philly ,A I embodies everything we Philidelphiens stand for. Work ethic and a chip on our shoulder. Always give your best anything else is unacceptable.

That’s why we love AI so much in Philly. ❤️

Well said Stephen A. And was easy to listen as was not yelling... 👏👏👏👏

That was a beautiful speech

Nice to wacht Smith out of the wwe character he plays at firts take , he really make some good valid points 👌, points on the last part of this clip .

If AI was 5 or 6 inches taller he'd probably be arguably considered the 2nd best player of all time behind Jordan. He was listed at 6 feet but I think he was closer to 5'10. Without Iverson Stephen A is still a beat writer for the Philly Inquirer. He owes alot to AI.

That a HOT take in any context. Stephen A goin crazy

Can’t put Ben in the same sentence as AI

Wow great analysis why PHI loves AI so much.

Iverson got me to like basketball, as a 12 year old kid I had to have all them iverson sneaks

You can tell Philidelphia has a special place in Stephen A's heart even though he is a New Yorker through and through.

We went from Allen Iverson to Ben Simmons…and people are mad at Philly fans for the Ben Simmons slander? He gave 0 effort compared to Iverson, an absolute WARRIOR.

I don't think people realize the impacts of social media, modern technology, etc...., (Celebrity status isn't the same as it was pre 2010) and what they have on modern NBA players- basketball is farther down the list of things of importance to an NBA player than most players would care to admit- Harden, Simmons (to a lesser extent Kyrie) are the big names that we are noticing now that care less but even Kawhi Leonard does not want to play an 82 game season!! The NBA has to accept this and learn to modernize the game!

At the end of the day, by next season, people will look at BS new progress like they see Andrew Wiggins now.

The fact that SAS was such a great player allows him to have this platform and a big chair to boot.

People might not know, but Philly is also a top 3 skateboarding city. The influence on skating that the dudes from love park gave is still relevant today

JJ, thank you for the reasonable title, assuming you manage this directly. I'm increasingly put off by this sort of thing - "Stephen A. Smith says Ben Simmons is DISGUSTING!!"

Allen Iverson is deadass a the personification of this city. Too much fuckin heart

Don’t ever put AI and Simmons in the same sentence ever again.

People forget that AI was just as big in his prime as Jordan in the US. He just didn't win like Jordan to get the worldwide renoun.

I hope that young man Ben Simmons come back to destroy all of us that threw him under the bus. He has the skills to do so. He is an All-star after all.

Well said, Stephen A.

Lol this video did exactly what they were talking about at the end

LMAO SAS spoke about getting misquoted as this video misattributed a quote in the clickbait title.

Every real Sixers fan knows where that Friday's is on City Line Ave.

SAS had a great soliloquy there at the end.

Really can’t have two bigger extremes in a city when it comes to sports

Philadelphia is the only sports town that has all four major teams actually playing inside the city. They are not in the suburbs. Now, yes, the Union plays in Chester but Chester is not a "suburb".

Sas is a real one when he is serious.

Stephen a Smith spoke so true about Philly and Iverson ...we always the underdog cause of NYC...all we ask for is to try

AI is a GOAT because he showed “The Man” that we dont have to play dog and pony if we come into work and do the damn thing.

Just cuz you understand something doesn’t mean your not going have a natural reaction ow way u feel about it it’s how we are as people it’s natural everyone different🤦🏾

That caption is hilarious

Thank you Stephen A. You know. Philly is a tough town. We dont take slacking easy. After Moses, Doc, Barkley, AI, we just cant put up with Simmons' inability to adjust and work hard.

I truly hate Google's ads

The older NBA players bash a lot of todays stars but imagine having to be under the social media spotlight being on watch 24/7 like Michael Jordan’s father with the gambling incident imagine the 2022 version could MJ mentally take that not saying he couldn’t but they have to understand these players are under a different light these ones are so much brighter!

To the ones who likes these kinds of post this is for you. I Hope your day, week, even year is a blessed one. Life is to short to hate and be mad at anything. Start reaching out to loved one more because you never know when it’s our last day here. Whatever it is in life you want to do go after it don’t let anyone tell you other wise. Keep on fighting, pushing, and grinding through whatever you are going through hope all is well peace and one love! ✌🏽 🙏🏽

Why can’t Stephen A. speak like this on all platforms? Just straight facts and none of the theatrics.

AI and Simmons gotta fight. No choice

Why is SAS's chair so much higher than JJ's?

Steven A Smith you got that on the money

Allen Iverson. accepted the challenge and that's why they call him The Answer

I magazine showing this to someone who doesn’t know who Allen over son is and then telling them that he went to 1 finals in his career where he lost in 5. Dude cared way more about himself and strippers than winning basketball games

That's what I think of Ben Simmons for what Stephen A Smith sees in Ben. I love A.I. he's the underdog of Philadelphia

Not saying Ben Simmons is perfect and couldn't have handled many things better than he has. But jfc, not every player has to be Michael Jordan or Allen Iverson. You can bring value to your team without taking aesthetically pleasing jump shots 30 times a game and pumping your fist in the air and taking everything personally. Draymond Green is a black hole on the offensive end (passed up a layup the other night), and more so than Simmons, and the Warriors are about to win another title. NBA fans are obsessed with these prototypes and it gets toxic. Not to mention dipshit tv pundits feeding into it so they can get ratings and make more money. And this is especially rich coming from Stephen A., the antithesis of a good sports pundit.

100 percent agree with SAS on this. Iverson was built for Philly. Ben Simmons ain't built for anything!!!!

Man sometime I wished philly draft nowitzki instead of larry hughes in 98