© Chuck Cook/© Jayne Kamin-Oncea Imagn/iStock
When it comes to the city of Philadelphia, luck has never really been on its side when it comes to sporting endeavors.
That is particularly true for the Philadelphia 76ers and the Philadelphia Phillies, who have had recent championship pursuits derailed by strange happenings and untimely injuries, as well as players suddenly dropping a level, seemingly out of nowhere.
Two of those players – former 76ers star Ben Simmons and ex-Phillies All-Star Nick Castellanos – may have a genuine reason for their respective fall-offs, however: a cursed home in the town of Moorestown, New Jersey, just outside the city of Philadelphia.
Nick Castellanos Purchased Cursed Philadelphia-Area Home From Ben Simmons
Simmons, a three-time NBA All-Star who is now out of the league entirely at just 29 years old, initially purchased the brand-new home in 2019.
At the time, he paid $2.275 million for the 10,500-square-foot mansion, which features five bedrooms and five-and-a-half bathrooms plus the addition of zebra-print quartz countertops and an all-black dining room to suit the NBA star’s desires.
But Simmons didn’t live there long. Shortly after purchasing the home, he had the most-infamous moment of his career, passing up an open dunk late in a Game 7 loss to the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Simmons had already dealt with back injuries throughout the season and sat out the start of the 2021-22 season due to the injury and a dispute with the team.
He was later traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a deal for James Harden.
In 2022, Simmons sold the house for $4.55 million to none other than new Philadelphia Phillies signing Nick Castellanos, who agreed to a five-year, $100 million deal with the team.
Castellanos did help the Phillies reach the 2022 World Series, and he was named an All-Star in 2023, but on the whole, his time with the team was wildly disappointing.
There is something about that damn house.
First Ben Simmons. Now Nick Castellanos.#Sixers #Phillies #IYKYK— Jason Ashworth (@AllAshworth) February 13, 2026
In 2025, Castellanos was one of the worst starting outfielders in all of baseball, and the Phillies cut ties with the player last week, agreeing to pay him over $19 million of his $20 million salary just to walk away.
For the sake of Philadelphia fans everywhere, let’s hope that whoever purchases the house next is not a star athlete on one of the city’s major pro sports franchises.