[1] The season was marred by controversy as All-Star guard Ben Simmons demanded to be traded due to his refusal to play for the team, and had missed training camp to enforce his holdout.
This led to Simmons being the most fined player in NBA history, with reports suggesting he had lost more than $10 million by the end of 2021.
[4] On February 10, 2022, Simmons, along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, and draft picks, were traded to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for All-Star guard James Harden and Paul Millsap.
[5][6] On April 3, after a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, the Sixers clinched their fifth consecutive playoff appearance.
The Sixers defeated the Toronto Raptors in the first round in six games and avenged their second-round loss to them in 2019.