Former No. 1 Pick Ben Simmons Set to Return to NBA After Missing a Season
Australian player Ben Simmons, who sat out last season due to health issues, has recovered and is expected to join the Sacramento Kings. The once top draft pick has had a career of both early success and later struggles.
Australian basketball player Ben Simmons, who missed the entire previous NBA season due to health problems, has regained his physical form and shown strong performances both with the Australian national team and in individual training sessions. His play has reportedly impressed the Sacramento Kings' management, who — after parting ways with DeMar DeRozan and Russell Westbrook — have offered him a role as a backup guard.
Career ups and downs
Simmons was drafted first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016. A fifth metatarsal fracture forced him to miss his entire rookie season, but his eventual debut was impressive — over the following two seasons he played 160 of 162 possible games, averaging 16.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7.9 assists. He was named Rookie of the Year in 2018, and in 2019 signed a five-year, $170 million contract extension.
However, after signing that deal, Simmons' career hit turbulence. Conflicts, contract disputes and mental health struggles caused him to miss part of the 2021-22 season, and in February 2022 he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets. Since signing his big contract in 2019, he has never played more than 58 games in a single season.
Recent seasons
In February 2025, Simmons was traded to the Los Angeles Clippers. Earlier that season with Brooklyn, he had started 24 of his 33 games, averaging 25.0 minutes and posting 6.2 points, 6.9 assists and 5.2 rebounds. With the Clippers, however, his role diminished across all 18 games he played, averaging just 16.4 minutes with 2.9 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.1 assists.
The Sacramento Kings finished last season with a 22-60 record, sharing the worst mark in the Western Conference with the Utah Jazz.
