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Bill Simmons is one of the biggest personalities in the sports media game. He made his name writing for Page 2 of ESPN before publishing his own book, titled The Book of Basketball to much success. From there, he helped found Grantland and worked on ESPN's 30 For 30 projects before dispute with management led to his departure from ESPN and the closing of Grantland. Simmons then founded his own sports and pop culture site, The Ringer, in partnership with HBO. Simmons is now the CEO of The Ringer and does a weekly eponymous podcast along with documentary work for HBO.

Here's everything else you need to know about Simmons.

Bill Simmons Twitter

Here is a link to Simmons' Twitter account, where he has amassed over five million followers.

Bill Simmons remains under fire for a lack of overall diversity at The Ringer, most recently exposed by a tone-deaf moment with Ryen Russillo and Simmons himself discussing protests and Russillo. The latest tweets from @drbill1947.

Bill Simmons Podcast

Here is a link to Simmons' eponymous podcast, also known as the B.S. Podcast.

Bill Simmons Reddit

As it so happens, Simmons has his own subreddit dedicated to his work. Here's where you can find it. Good place for superfans of Simmons to congregate.

Bill Simmons Net Worth

There is no confirmed number for Simmons' net worth. However, Celebrity Net Worth slots the sports media mogul's net worth at $100 million.

Bill Simmons Wife

Simmons has been married to Kari Simmons since 1999. Back when he was writing regularly, he would occasionally refer to her as the 'Sports Gal.'

Bill Simmons Instagram

Here is the link to Simmons' instagram account, which has over 300,000 followers. Not quite Twitter-level, but nobody's perfect, I suppose.

Bill Simmons Angers NBA Twitter With James Harden-Luca Doncic Comparison

Bill Simmons angered NBA Twitter this week when he chose to bash James Harden while praising Luka Doncic.

During his most recent podcast with Ryen Russillo, Simmons made the argument that Doncic was the Larry Bird of the modern NBA.

While that in itself is not a particularly illuminating take given that Doncic and Bird have little in common aside from pigment, what really ticked NBA Twitter off was Simmons opting to bash Harden while making his argument.

“The thing with Luka is the assists aren’t, like, cheap assists,” The Ringer boss said.

“He has the typical James Harden type of assist, where he brings the second guy over and hits the guy in the corner, the cross-court, all the stuff he’s doing to get guys open threes. But he’s also creating these cutter passes.

“Guys learn how to play with him and they’re more active, more engaged.”

Bill Simmons: “Luka’s assists are like Bird’s… they’re not cheap assists… like the James Harden type of assists.” #Rockets#OneMissionpic.twitter.com/MTzWw52HBF

— Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) August 10, 2020

Simmons’ comments prompted immediate mocking on social media.

Ah yes https://t.co/ABCcs2XREwpic.twitter.com/VrEeJQDydQ

— Jasmine (@JasmineLWatkins) August 10, 2020

Here’s an entire two minute video of Harden’s assists that Luka did once and Bill Simmons is freaking out about Luka’s https://t.co/O0QzTaUUvWpic.twitter.com/dTfHIddGMK

— Abdul Memon (@abdulamemon) August 10, 2020

Bill Simmons Praising Luka Doncic Is Understandable

Dr Bill Simmons Twitter

Simmons being a fan of Doncic is not in itself shocking. The 21-year-old is an excellent player, and led the Mavericks to a very impressive showing against the Los Angeles Clippers in the playoffs this year.

The young Slovenian star is objectively special.

What really sparked the ire of NBA Twitter was not Simmons praising Doncic. That was justifiable and understandable. It was his decision to bash Harden, who has been one of the league’s premiere starting talents for the past eight years.

It is no secret that Harden’s playing style has won him some critics, but his results and stats are undeniable. He is a perennial top-two NBA MVP voting finisher for a reason.

Everything that Doncic can do, Harden can do as well. In time it may prove out that Doncic is superior to Harden, but that certainly is not the case in any capacity yet.

Related: LeBron James Lakers Drama Continues To Hang Over Team

The Racial Component

Any time a professional entity is mostly comprised of one race and a star of a different race emerges, the subject of how that plays into it is unavoidable. Whether you are talking about Eminem’s place in rap or Tiger Woods’ legacy in golf, the racial component cannot be avoided.

As such, there are two racial issues at play here.

The first is how Doncic’s race factors into fans’ perception of him – on both sides.

As illustrated by Shannon Sharpe, the opinions here are anything but unanimous.

.@ShannonSharpe on Luka Doncic’s performance vs the Bucks:

“He’s special, he can do it all. Skip, he’s been a professional for 6 years, this is not anything new to him. It’s just a matter of time, he’s going to win the MVP, he’s that good, he’s the real deal.” pic.twitter.com/zFu4c2C67P

— UNDISPUTED (@undisputed) August 10, 2020

The second is how race shapes perceptions of Harden – and in this case how Simmons views him.

The Bill Simmons Podcast everytime James Harden has a good game pic.twitter.com/hbemMnuM35

— LebronJamesHarden™ (@LBJamesHarden) August 10, 2020

Bill Simmons is a true blue (green) Celtics fan, in that he’s a closet racist. https://t.co/4wuiGMehhQ

— Andre Brock (@andreibrock) August 10, 2020

One way or another, this conversation as it pertains to both Doncic and Harden will persist. Both players are too good for it not to.

Bill Simmons Wiki

At the moment, Simmons is the one catching heat for it, but inevitably it will happen again with someone else as well.

Bill Simmons Twitter Page

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