Ben Simmons fires back at NBA announcer's 'disturbing' comments

Ben Simmons has clapped back at a commentator who labelled him 'the most overrated player in the NBA', firing off an Instagram broadside against him.

The Philadelphia 76ers superstar was called out by Washington Wizards commentator Justin Kutcher when the two teams played over the weekend.

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Simmons' lack of outside shooting skill has long been one of the most easily criticised aspects of his game, but with the 76ers leading the NBA's Eastern Conference and Simmons in contention for the Defensive Player of the Year award, making the case he's 'overrated' is something of a challenge.

Nonetheless, Kutcher felt he was up to the challenge, saying hype around Simmons was obscuring his teammate Tobias Harris' efforts.

“I’ve said it before and I know I’ll take flak for it. … I think Ben Simmons is one of if not the most overrated players in the NBA,” he said.

“He’s gotten so much love and attention that people aren’t paying attention to what Tobias Harris is actually doing on the floor.”

There was an immediate reaction from fans to Kutcher's comment, but Simmons himself had the last laugh when he took to Instagram himself after the game.

After digging up a post of Kutcher wearing sunglasses and a robe and drinking out of a shaker, Simmons shared the image to his story with the caption 'another casual'.

Though he knew he'd 'take flak' for the comments, Kutcher might not have expected quite the amount of criticism he got for his opinion, with former NBA star Kendrick Perkins firing up about it on Twitter, as well as fans.

Perkins, an NBA champion with Boston in 2008, said it was a 'disturbing' comment.

"Did he just say that Ben Simmons is the most overrated player in the league? Shame on him," Perkins wrote.

"This gotta be the most disturbing thing I’ve heard all year. He do realise that Simmons is the front runner for DPOY?! #ridiculous"

Fans also came for Kutcher on Twitter, prompting the commentator to add to his earlier comments.

"Yep, I said that Ben Simmons is one of the most overrated plyrs in the NBA, and I stand by it," Kutcher said.

"I didn’t say he was BAD, just not as good as everyone makes him out to be. GREAT defender, potential DPOY, but I think he’s made All League/All Star Teams based on hype. And..goodnight."

Embiid injured as Sixers blow away Wizards

The Sixers had the last laugh with the 127-101 win over the Wizards but it did come at a cost, with superstar Joel Embiid set to mess 2-3 weeks after suffering a bone bruise in his knee following a scary fall in the third quarter.

Shake Milton and Furkan Korkmaz contributed 18 points apiece off the bench while Tobias Harris added 14 points and eight rebounds. Seth Curry also had 14 points and Danny Green had 12 for the Sixers, who recorded their third consecutive road victory.

The Sixers also won at Washington in the regular season for the first time since November of 2013.

Simmons missed the game due to contact tracing.

Russell Westbrook led the Wizards with 25 points, eight assists and five rebounds while Bradley Beal added 19 points despite being questionable before the game with left knee soreness. Robin Lopez had 10.

Philadelphia led 63-53 at half-time thanks in large part to Embiid's 19 points.

The Sixers received a major scare when Embiid limped to the locker room with 6:20 left in the third.

After throwing down a dunk, Embiid appeared to land awkwardly on his left knee. The Cameroonian stayed down for several minutes with head athletic trainer Kevin Johnson tending to him.

The Sixers, however, still dominated the third and led 94-76 at the end of the quarter. They controlled the tempo the rest of the way in the blowout victory.

With AAP

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