Hustle Avoids 1 Awkward Philadelphia 76ers Cameo

Multiple players and coaches involved with the Philadelphia 76ers appear in Adam Sandler's Hustle, but the movie thankfully avoids one awkward cameo.

Warning: Spoilers for Netflix’s Hustle!

Adam Sandler’s Netflix basketball movie avoids an awkward Philadelphia 76ers cameo as Hustle leaves out Ben Simmons. Beyond the appeal of seeing Sandler star in another movie that gives him a bit more of a serious role, Hustle‘s trailer immediately stood out for its ability to tell a story within a very real basketball world. The movie includes a variety of real-life NBA stars and personalities throughout, including casting Juancho Hernangómez as Bo Cruz, the talented international prospect Sandler’s Stanley Sugerman discovers.

For most of Hustle‘s runtime, the movie’s story is set in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as Stanley is a scout working for the Philadelphia 76ers. This allows the 2022 Netflix movie to include a high number of players, coaches, and personnel involved with the real 76ers team. Players such as Tobias Harris, Tyrese Maxey, and Matisse Thybulle have significant roles in the movie, while even Seth Curry appears since he was on the team when Hustle was made. The cameos go on to include Philadelphia 76ers head coach Doc Rivers and various members of his coaching staff and the team’s front office, as well former legends like Julius “Dr. J” Erving and Allen Iverson.

The list of Philadelphia 76ers players grows in Hustle‘s ending when the closing credits begin to roll, showing others as part of a real NBA game filmed to simulate Bo Cruz’s game with the Boston Celtics. This allows Hustle to involve a wide range of players, such as 76ers star Joel Embiid, but there is one person noticeably absent throughout the entirety of the movie: Ben Simmons. Despite being part of the team at the time and one of the organization’s star players, he is miraculously not mentioned or seen. This is quite clearly for the best, as a Ben Simmons cameo in Hustle would have been incredibly awkward based on his falling out with the team.

Why Hustle Was Right Leaving Out A Ben Simmons Cameo

Non-Hustle cast member Ben Simmons was drafted with the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, where he became a poster child for their tanking “process” paying off. He developed into a great defensive player and passer on offense, but his time in Philly came to an end in 2022 as he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets. This came after a very awkward offseason leading up to the 2021-2022 NBA season that started when Ben Simmons received a lot of criticism around the NBA world for his play against the Atlanta Hawks in the 2021 NBA Playoffs, specifically the Game 7 loss in the Conference Semifinals. This led to him asking for a trade, struggling with his mental and physical health, and sitting out the entire 2021-2022 season with an injury, even after his trade.

It would have been very easy for Adam Sandler’s Hustle movie to include Ben Simmons or reference him in some form. However, there is no question that the movie was better off leaving him out. Philadelphia 76ers fans watching the movie would once again be reminded of the drama that ensued around their former star, while any potential jokes about Stanley Sugerman’s assessment of Ben Simmons for the draft could have been in bad taste. Ultimately, Hustle made the right call in not including a Ben Simmons cameo or reference and letting this fictional world avoid the drama.