The 2024 Met Gala is underway, and the theme this year is “Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion.” Celebrities donned looks inspired by the “The Garden of Time” dress code, including Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons.
The Nets star arrived on the red carpet sporting a clock bag in a subtle interpretation of the theme.
While fashion blogs applauded Simmons for his outfit, basketball fans weren’t impressed.
Don Sampson – “Will Ben Simmons attend more met galas or play more games in the 2024-25 season?”
Drunk Rudy Gobert – “Met Gala? More like met by Trae Young at the rim”
Young sir – “He got a clock but has no timetable for his return”
B – “Needs to attend his doctor appointments”
Nathan – “Jeez. Play basketball for once dude.”
Chad Alden – “My boys outfit almost as bad as he was on the court this season”
Clay Sauertig – “Man spent the entire 2023-24 season playing Hogwarts Legacy.”
Jeff Eisenband – “Gotta keep the clock with him. Still on a minutes restriction.”
Jehovah’s Flyest Witness – “thief’s are allowed at the Met? he’s currently robbing the BK Nets”
No Look Jok – “Does the Met Gala offer benches to sit on?”
Saint – “Wearing a clock when you ain’t clock no in game minutes this season is insane”
Ben Simmons struggles through Nets’ season
This season, Simmons managed to play in just 15 games for the Nets while scoring a little over six points per game, despite an offseason rife with promises. To his credit, he has shot 58 percent from the field, although he has not attempted a single three-pointer, which is a rarity on today’s NBA landscape.
Simmons was taken by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016 and has mostly failed to live up to his admittedly sky-high expectations. National Basketball Association GMs saw him as a strong and athletic forward who could rebound, pass, defend and make plays for his teammates. What they didn’t realize is that he would end up becoming one of the most injury-prone players in league history.
Simmons played 81 and 79 games, respectively, over the course of his first two seasons in the league. He has since failed to crack the 60-game mark in four seasons since, including two with Philadelphia and two with the Nets.
The former LSU star suffered a foot fracture in his true rookie season and did not see the floor. He bounced back to win Rookie of the Year the following season but has dealt with knee and back injuries in later years. On March 7, Simmons was shut down for the season after suffering a nerve impingement in his lower back. All told, Simmons has played just 57 games for the Nets over two seasons, and the same amount of games over the last three years total.
