Ben Simmons

• 1. Introduction

  ›

  Ben Simmons arrived at the 2016 NBA draft carrying the weight of the highest expectation the league can bestow: the first overall pick. He was twenty years old, born in Fitzroy, Melbourne, the son of a man who had played professionally in Australia's National Basketball League. He had not played a single game in the NCAA tournament. And yet every team in the league had him marked as the future.

  What followed was a career that refused to settle into any comfortable narrative. Simmons would win Rookie of the Year, earn three All-Star selections, and set statistical milestones in the company of Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. He would also become the worst free-throw shooter in postseason history among players with at least 67 attempts, miss more than two full seasons to back injuries, and eventually collect $124 million from the Brooklyn Nets for 90 games of work. His story raises questions that his statistics alone cannot answer: what happens when a generational passer cannot bring himself to shoot, and what does a career look like when the body finally joins the mind in retreat?

• 2. Melbourne to Montverde

  ›

  Dave Simmons played college basketball for the Oklahoma City Stars before crossing the Pacific to play professionally for the Melbourne Tigers in 1989. His son Ben was born in Fitzroy that same year the decade turned, and grew up in Newcastle from the age of 18 months while his father played and later coached in the city. Ben first touched a basketball at age seven, joining the Newcastle Hunters' under-12 representative team.

  At age ten he returned to Melbourne and joined the Knox Raiders junior program. Rugby and Australian rules football competed for his attention through primary school. In year 7 at Whitefriars College, he was named MVP after leading Whitefriars to the Year-7 Division 1A basketball premiership. The tension between basketball and Australian rules football followed him into his teens, and he was still weighing the choice at fifteen.

  That choice was settled at the 2011 Australian Schools Championships, where Simmons played for Box Hill Senior Secondary College. A scholarship to the Australian Institute of Sport came the following year, and later in 2012 he appeared at the Pangos All-American Camp in the United States. Despite being fifteen, he was selected to represent Australia at the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Championship, where he posted a 26-point, 10-rebound, 5-steal performance against the Czech Republic in a tournament run that ended with a silver medal.

  In January 2013, Simmons moved permanently to the United States and enrolled at Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida. That April, in his first major American team competition, he helped Montverde rally from 16 points down to beat St Benedict's 67-65 in the final of the High School National Tournament. In October 2013, he committed to Louisiana State University, choosing LSU over Kentucky, Kansas, and Duke.

• 3. The Prep Phenomenon

  ›

  By his junior year at Montverde, Simmons was averaging 18.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.7 assists per game while shooting 69 percent from the field. His team finished 28-0, closing with a 71-62 win over Oak Hill Academy in the High School National Tournament at Madison Square Garden. Simmons had 24 points and 12 rebounds in that final and earned MVP honours.

  His senior season raised the scale of expectation further. On the 12th of November 2014 he signed his National Letter of Intent with LSU. On the 28th of January 2015 he was named to the East team for the 38th annual McDonald's All-American Game. On the 10th of March he received the Morgan Wootten Award, given to the McDonald's All-American who best exemplifies character, leadership, and academic commitment. Two days later he was named the Naismith Prep Player of the Year, and on the 24th of March the Gatorade National Player of the Year.

  Over 29 regular season games that senior year, he averaged 28.0 points, 11.9 rebounds, 4.0 assists, and 2.6 steals per game, shooting 70.7 percent from the field and recording 24 double-doubles. He then led Montverde to a third consecutive High School National Tournament title with a 70-61 win over Oak Hill Academy on the 4th of April 2015 at Madison Square Garden, recording 58 points and 35 rebounds across the three-day event. ESPN ranked him the No. 1 player in the nation. The 2015 Nike Hoop Summit followed, where he scored 13 points in a 103-101 World Team win over Team USA.

• 4. One Season at LSU

  ›

  LSU's 2015-16 season began in Australia, with the Tigers completing a five-game tour on which Simmons averaged 20 points and nine rebounds per game. Before the domestic season tipped off, he was named the SEC's Preseason Player of the Year, only the second freshman to earn that distinction after Kentucky's Julius Randle in 2013.

  On the 13th of November 2015, he made his college debut against McNeese State, logging 11 points and 13 rebounds in a win. On the 2nd of December, in a 119-108 victory over North Florida, Simmons recorded 43 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals, and 3 blocks. Those 43 points were the most by a Tigers player since Shaquille O'Neal had 43 against Northern Arizona on the 28th of December 1991. Following a win over Kentucky on the 5th of January 2016, NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson called Simmons the best all-round player since LeBron James.

  The season had a persistent difficulty beneath the gaudy numbers. Simmons was removed from the starting lineup for a game against Tennessee due to academic reasons and came off the bench for the first time. LSU finished 18-13 and fourth in the SEC tournament, suffering a 71-38 semifinal blowout to Texas A&M that eliminated them from NCAA tournament contention. Simmons led the team in every major statistical category except three-point shooting and free throw shooting, averaging 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 2.0 steals.

  With LSU out of the tournament and coach Johnny Jones announcing the team would skip all postseason play, Simmons declared for the NBA draft on the 21st of March 2016. He signed with sports agency Klutch Sports, primarily owned by Rich Paul, and relocated to Phoenix, Arizona to prepare.

• 5. Rookie Ascent

  ›

  The week before the 2016 draft, media analysts questioned Simmons' attitude and character. 76ers head coach Brett Brown, who had previously coached the Australian national team and knew the Simmons family personally, publicly rejected those assessments. On the 23rd of June 2016, Philadelphia selected Simmons first overall. He became the third Melbourne-born player taken with that pick in eleven years, following Andrew Bogut in 2005 and Kyrie Irving in 2011, and the first college player in the modern era to go first overall without ever playing in the NCAA tournament.

  On the 30th of September 2016, Simmons rolled his right ankle in the 76ers' final training camp scrimmage. An X-ray and MRI revealed a fractured fifth metatarsal bone. A return in three to four months was estimated, but on the 24th of February 2017 the team ruled him out for the entire season after further tests showed the foot had not fully healed.

  He returned for the 2017-18 season. On the 18th of October 2017, in his NBA debut, he posted 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 120-115 loss to the Washington Wizards. Three games in, on the 21st of October, he matched those numbers and added eight assists against the Toronto Raptors, joining Oscar Robertson as the only players to post 10-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, and 5-plus assists in their first three NBA games. In his fourth game, on the 23rd of October, he recorded his first triple-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 97-86 win over the Detroit Pistons, becoming the third rookie after Robertson (1960) and Art Williams (1967) to accomplish that in the first four games.

  On the 22nd of February 2018, he scored a career-high 32 points, including two free throws with 5.6 seconds remaining to complete a comeback from five points down as the 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 116-115. By the 15th of March against the New York Knicks, he had joined Robertson and Magic Johnson as the third rookie in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists. On the 26th of March, his 11 assists against the Denver Nuggets surpassed Allen Iverson to set the team rookie record. The 76ers finished the regular season with 16 consecutive wins, earning the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed with a 52-30 record, the franchise's best since 2001.

  In his playoff debut against the Miami Heat, Simmons had 17 points, 14 assists, and nine rebounds in a 130-103 win, becoming the first rookie since Magic Johnson in 1980 to record a postseason triple-double. At season's end, he was named NBA Rookie of the Year.

• 6. All-Star, All-Defensive, All-Stuck

  ›

  On the 31st of January 2019, Simmons received his first All-Star selection, becoming the first Australian to earn that honour. On the 15th of January of that year, he had become the second-fastest player in NBA history to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists, reaching that mark in 125 games, nine fewer than Magic Johnson and 33 fewer than LeBron James.

  On the 15th of July 2019, the 76ers and Simmons agreed to a five-year, $170 million contract extension. That December, coach Brett Brown was public about his demands for Simmons to develop a three-point shot. "I want a 3-point shot a game, minimum," Brown told reporters, adding that he had warned Simmons he could be benched for refusing to shoot. On the 7th of December 2019, Simmons scored a career-high 34 points on 12-of-14 shooting against the Cleveland Cavaliers, a game that included only his second career three-pointer.

  At the close of the 2019-20 season, Simmons led the NBA in steals and earned both All-NBA Third Team and NBA All-Defensive First Team honours. He also earned his second consecutive All-Star appearance. A nerve impingement in his lower back had sidelined him for several months during the season, and he sat out the playoffs entirely with a knee injury as the 76ers were swept by the Boston Celtics.

  The 2020-21 season produced his highest single-game scoring output: 42 points and 12 assists in a 134-123 loss to the Utah Jazz on the 15th of February 2021. But the playoffs that followed erased those numbers from the public conversation. Against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, Simmons shot 33 percent from the free-throw line (15-for-45) in a seven-game series, surpassing Wilt Chamberlain and Shaquille O'Neal as the worst free-throw shooter in postseason history among players with at least 67 attempts. He did not attempt a single shot in the final quarter in five of the seven games. After a Game 7 loss, Joel Embiid identified a specific play, a passed-up open dunk, as the series turning point. Coach Doc Rivers, asked if Simmons could lead a championship team at point guard, replied: "I don't even know how to answer that right now."

• 7. Holdout and Decline

  ›

  In August 2021, despite four years remaining on his contract, Simmons informed the 76ers he no longer wished to play for the team. He missed training camp, skipped the preseason, and listed his Philadelphia home for $3.1 million. The 76ers withheld $8.25 million in escrow on the 1st of October, representing more than a quarter of the $31.59 million owed to him for that season. After he cited a mental health issue, fines were temporarily suspended, then resumed when he continued to refuse to cooperate. By the end of 2021, reports indicated his cumulative fines had exceeded $10 million, making him the most-fined player in NBA history. He eventually filed a grievance to recover nearly $20 million in withheld salary; the two sides settled for an undisclosed amount in August 2022.

  On the 10th of February 2022, Simmons was traded to the Brooklyn Nets along with Andre Drummond, Seth Curry, and two future first-round picks in exchange for James Harden and Paul Millsap. A herniated disc diagnosis followed on the 21st of March. He did not play at all during the 2021-22 season, missing even a planned playoff debut against the Celtics after back soreness returned on the 24th of April. He underwent back surgery on the 5th of May.

  His Nets debut came on the 19th of October 2022. He played 42 games that season before a nerve impingement ended his year again. Across the 2022-23 season he posted career lows across every major statistical category, with ESPN describing the performance as "a steep decline from his days as an All-Star." He missed the first 38 games of the 2023-24 season, returned to play only 15 games, then underwent a microscopic partial discectomy in March 2024 to address a recurring nerve issue in his lower back.

  On the 8th of February 2025, the Nets waived him and bought out the remainder of his contract. Over three seasons in Brooklyn, the team paid him $124 million for 90 games played. Two days later, Simmons signed with the Los Angeles Clippers.

• 8. The Australian Thread

  ›

  Simmons is a dual citizen of Australia and the United States. His father Dave became a naturalized Australian citizen after settling there to play and coach. Ben made his senior debut for Australia at the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship against New Zealand, part of a gold medal-winning team that year.

  The pattern that followed his debut was one of repeated public commitment and private withdrawal. He verbally pledged to compete in the 2016 Olympics, the 2019 FIBA World Cup, the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and the 2024 Paris Olympics. In each case, he withdrew before competition, citing either preparation for an NBA season or, in later years, rehabilitation from injury. Coach Brian Goorjian extended an open invitation to the 2023 FIBA World Cup camp; Simmons ruled himself out to focus on his back. He was excluded from Australia's preliminary pool for the 2024 Olympics due to the same back problems.

  His family connections to the sport run through multiple generations and continents. His godfather, David Patrick, was an assistant coach at LSU during Simmons' lone collegiate season and later became head coach at Sacramento State. His sister Emily, a former Washington State University women's rowing team member, has worked for Klutch Sports since 2014 and is married to former NFL player Michael Bush. His brother Liam, a former assistant coach at the University of California, Riverside, resigned that position in the summer of 2018 to serve as Simmons' personal shooting coach, a role that drew its own share of controversy.

  In November 2016, the Showtime documentary film One & Done provided a window into Simmons' one-and-done college experience and his family's views on the NCAA and NBA eligibility rules. That same period, on the 7th of June 2016, he signed an endorsement deal with Nike. Away from basketball, Simmons has been a vocal supporter of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League and the Newcastle Knights of the National Rugby League, the city where he first learned the game.