Watch: Ben Simmons nearly booed out of arena in return to Philadelphia

How bad did it get for Mr. Simmons? The booes continued into the game with him at the free-throw line. Despite this, the 50% free-throw shooter nailed both from the charity stripe.

Ben Simmons was an enigmatic figure during the latter stages of his career in Philadelphia. That was magnified following a brutal playoff performance to conclude the 2020-21 season and some major drama between the former No. 1 pick and his organization behind the scenes.

For his part, the former LSU star knew that this would happen when speaking to the media in the lead-up to Tuesday’s game.

“In Philly? Come on now, I know what’s coming.” Ben Simmons on what he expected heading into Tuesday night in Philadelphia. “That’s part of the game. Philly fans, one thing about Philly fans is they are incredible. They are diehard Philly and they are everything Philly, whatever it is. I respect that about the city. It’s a sports town.”

As for what we’ve seen from Simmons thus far this season, it’s been a complete dumpster fire. Brooklyn is growing frustrated with the embattled guard. He’s missed time to injury. And when on the court, the dude has struggled big-time. It has led to speculation about a potential trade a mere 13 games into his Nets tenure.

Yeah, nothing to see here.

In the end, Simmons' presence was not enough to help the Nets beat the Sixers. Philly won, 115-106. Simmons shot 4-of-7 from the field and 3-of-6 from the free-throw line for 11 points in 32 minutes. He added seven rebounds, 11 assists, three blocks and a game-high three steals.