{"id":909365,"date":"2026-09-29T04:18:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T04:18:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/909365\/"},"modified":"2026-09-29T04:18:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T04:18:18","slug":"the-question-that-angered-ben-simmons-ahead-of-his-return-to-the-nba-with-the-sacramento-kings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/909365\/","title":{"rendered":"The question that angered Ben Simmons ahead of his return to the NBA with the Sacramento Kings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Jon<\/p>\n

September 29, 2026 \u2014 11:55am<\/p>\n

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A rejuvenated Ben Simmons has declared basketball is his art and he is ready to dominate and prove to the world how much he missed the sport in a year away from the game.<\/p>\n

Simmons was a top draft pick with the Philadelphia 76ers and one of the great hopes for that team\u2019s turnaround in fortunes. But the relationship soured and when his five-year, $250 million deal expired after the 2024-25 season, he was traded to the Brooklyn Nets \u2013 then waived.<\/p>\n

\"BackBack in the big league: Three-time All Star Ben Simmons says he is a happy and healthy and ready to make a splash with the Sacramento Kings.Getty<\/p>\n

He spent his last season with the Los Angeles Clippers, and then turned his attention to professional sport fishing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Simmons, 30, who has struggled with physical and mental health issues throughout his career, is back and ready to make a splash in his return to the NBA.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Chicago<\/a><\/p>\n

He has worked hard on shedding a back issue which had long plagued his game and, in some ways, took the pure joy away from playing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that was more so just my body. It wasn\u2019t about if I wanted to play. All these people talk about, I don\u2019t love the game. That\u2019s bullshit \u2013 I love this game,\u201d the Australian guard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I didn\u2019t, I wouldn\u2019t have taken that year to focus on myself and get back to where I\u2019m at.\u201d<\/p>\n

Former NBA player Patrick Beverley recently claimed Simmons quit when things got hard, and questioned his respect and love for the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do I love about the game? Everything. It\u2019s my art,\u201d Simmons said.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Back<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cYou know, I get to come out here and be creative and play hard and compete against, you know, a numerous amount of talented guys. So for me, it\u2019s just, it\u2019s in my blood. I\u2019ve been doing it since I was a baby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simmons impressed Australian Boomers coaches and players at an unofficial squad camp in Melbourne last month, sources close to the pass-first playmaker confirming to this masthead he is keen to represent his country at the FIBA World Cup in Qatar next year.<\/p>\n

Fellow Australian Josh Giddey, the star Chicago Bulls\u2019 playmaker, said there was no reason why Simmons could not again be a force.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was awesome to see him back fit and firing in Melbourne, and I think it was awesome for him to be amongst that national team program,\u201d Giddey told this masthead ahead of the Bulls\u2019 media day.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe knows how much, you know, we want him to be a part of it, and I think it\u2019s an awesome place for him to rejuvenate his career and get back to where he belongs in the NBA. So, super excited to see him.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\u201cHe looks good. He looks really healthy and fit. And, yeah, I\u2019m excited to watch him this year and see how he goes in Sacramento.\u201d<\/p>\n

Simmons averaged 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game through his career, but outside shooting was an issue.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Dash<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m right where I need to be. I took a lot of time to focus on my body over the season. I think it was the best thing I\u2019ve done and decision I\u2019ve made for my career,\u201d Simmons, on a one-year, $3.5 million contract, said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to getting going. I feel great and I\u2019m ready to go. No limitations, so ready.<\/p>\n

\u201cI miss playing the game a lot. But when you\u2019re not physically right, it\u2019s hard to want to be out there and do what you love.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo the fact that I\u2019m healthy, and I\u2019m able to compete every day and play every day, I love it.\u201d<\/p>\n

It shapes as a tough season for an undermanned Kings\u2019 unit in a loaded western conference. But Simmons has a goal: \u201cEvery time I step on the floor, to dominate,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\"JonJon Pierik<\/a> is a sports journalist at The Age. He covers AFL and has won awards for his cricket and basketball writing.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"September 29, 2026 \u2014 11:55am Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":909366,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,85],"class_list":["post-909365","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909365","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=909365"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/909365\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/909366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=909365"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=909365"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=909365"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}