Aussie basketball great Shane Heal slams Ben Simmons for never showing desire to play for Boomers

Australian basketball legend Shane Heal has slammed Ben Simmons for his lack of desire in representing Australia - and even questioned if the NBA star loves basketball.

Simmons' desire to play for the Boomers has long raised eyebrows as the former No.1 pick has turned down many opportunities to play for his country at an international level.

He hasn't worn a Boomers jersey in over ten years, and Heal isn't sure he is ever keen to make the effort. 

'It's not disappointing for me because I never expected him to do it. I don't think Ben Simmons has ever shown a desire to play for Australia,' Heal told Wide World of Sports.

'The NBA guys sacrifice, everyone sacrifices to go to the Olympic Games and Ben Simmons hasn't shown that he has the passion or the desire to sacrifice to play for his country. So I didn't ever think that he would, to be honest.'

Heal even questioned the NBA star's passion for the sport itself.

'I'm not sure that he loves the game,' said Heal.

'He hasn't shown that he loves playing, hasn't shown that he loves training, hasn't shown that he likes being in the gym in the off-season to make his game better and work on these things that every pro needs to do to make sure your game is going and you're getting better year after year.

'Ben's career, each year, he's gone a little bit backwards and it's for those reasons, I think. I'm not sure whether that changes at any time in the future and he finds a love for the game and wants to do these things and wants to play all year round but at the moment we haven't seen that.'

Earlier in the year, Shaquille O'Neal told Simmons to 'man up' after he was ruled out for the rest of the season with more injury issues.

On an episode of The Big Podcast with Shaq, the Hall-of-Famer did not hold back when co-host Adam Lefkoe asked him and Jamal Crawford which NBA player they would pay to see.

'Ben Simmons because I'd wanna learn how you can make $80 million and play 55 games,' O'Neal quickly responded. 'Teach me.'

'Teach me how you can f***ing play 55 games in three seasons and get $30m, $40m, and get another $40m just by saying your back hurt.'

'Get some f***ing Icy Hot, man up,' O'Neal added.

Simmons appeared in 15 games for Brooklyn last season, with his last coming in a 111-86 win against the Memphis Grizzlies on February 26.

The former LSU Tiger's back issues first came to light when he played for the Philadelphia 76ers. Aside from the point guard's reported mental struggles, the physical strain caused Simmons to miss the 2021-22 season.

In the season before, Simmons clocked in for 42 games with his lingering back issues and knee ailments. Brooklyn finished sixth in the Eastern Conference before getting swept by the 76ers in the first round of the playoffs.

A former No. 1 pick, Simmons was an All-Star from 2019 through 2021 before his fallout with Philadelphia and frustrating tenure in Brooklyn.

Last season, Simmons averaged 6.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 5.7 assists while shooting 58.1 per cent from the field.