PHILADELPHIA — A few dozen 76ers fans congregated outside the Nets’ team hotel early Thursday morning to express their venom at Ben Simmons, and that only was a small prelude to what was expected in much larger doses later that night at Wells Fargo Center.

Simmons still hasn’t made his Nets debut but was slated to sit on the visiting bench in Brooklyn’s first game against the 76ers since they shipped James Harden to Philly for him as the centerpiece of the return package Feb. 10 in a trade-deadline blockbuster.

Simmons brushed past reporters at the morning shootaround without answering questions and wasn’t made available before the game.

But Nets coach Steve Nash echoed Kevin Durant’s advice to Simmons from earlier in the week, that he should embrace the boos and creative chants he was expected to hear as a positive experience.

“I hope he enjoys it,” Nash said. “How many people in this world get to go into an arena and get booed by the entire place? I had it done to me and I thought it was a privilege.

“So I hope he enjoys the experience, and his future is in Brooklyn. Philly’s moved on, and it’s a basketball game, so let’s go out there and enjoy it.”

The 25-year-old Simmons requested a trade from the Sixers last summer and sat out the entire season before last month’s deal. He also cited mental health concerns for staying away from his former team. While Harden was making his sixth appearance alongside MVP candidate Joel Embiid for the Sixers — entering the night with a 5-0 mark — Simmons still needs to ramp up his conditioning after also dealing with back soreness since the trade.

“He’s just been trying to get his back in a position where we’re safe for the long haul,” Nash said. “There’s a little flare-up. He’s progressing nicely. There’s definitely a light at the end of the tunnel there, but he’s not ready to play right now.

“We have to wait and see how performance evaluates him, but like I said, there is progress being made.”

In the meantime, the three-time All-Star elected to accompany the Nets for this portion of their road trip, despite the abuse he knowingly would be facing.

“I mean, it’s a part of the process, right? You leave one team, you go to another. Whether it was as eventful as this situation or not, it’s always a little awkward when you go back to your old team and play,” Nash added. “I’ve been there and I think it is a part of the process.

“It’s just kind of getting it out of the way, going back, having everyone see you again and you see them and from then on everything dissipates game by game.”

Nets center Andre Drummond, who came to Brooklyn as part of the trade after spending time as Embiid’s backup this season, expected a “playoff-like atmosphere.” But he didn’t expect Simmons to be affected by the negative reception.

“Currently, Ben is shooting jump shots right now, so I don’t think he’s really worried about what’s to come,” Drummond said. “At the end of the day, this is a kid’s sport. Fans are involved in games and they have their feeling towards players.

“Obviously what he did, is none of my business; I wasn’t there for it. But he’s my teammate now and he seems to be in a good space.”

Asked if he expected any fans to “cross the line” in their interactions with Simmons, Drummond added, “Regardless of what the fans do, it’s completely on them how they want to conduct themselves. How they want to represent themselves is on them. I can’t control that. I just have to be out there and play a game.”