Ben Simmons has done something this summer NBA fans have seen plenty of times before. He posted a workout photo, looking perhaps better physically than he has in several years, along with a message about embracing the highs, the lows, the pain, the time away from the court and the lessons he learned through all of it.
There was a time when a post like that would have been enough to set off another round of comeback hype. With Simmons, it mostly brings caution now. We have seen too many versions of the same story.
Every summer, reports would come out that he felt great, that he was in better shape than he had been in a long time and was finally working without restrictions again. Then the season would start, the first struggles would come, his body would begin causing problems and before long there was more talk about rehab than basketball. Simmons has reached a strange point in his career where even good news about his health is met with suspicion.
This Time, There Is Something More Than a Workout Photo
There are a few reasons to pay attention this time. Several NBA teams have shown interest, one Western Conference team has offered him a non-guaranteed training camp spot, and the 30-year-old Australian is willing to sign for the veteran minimum. He is also taking part in an Australian national team gathering in Melbourne without restrictions, with the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles as the long-term goal. Simmons paid his own way to attend the camp. It does not prove much, but it is at least more concrete than another summer statement about wanting to play for the national team.
His willingness to play for the minimum says more. When Simmons reached a buyout with Brooklyn in February 2025, he gave up around $1.1 million to clear the way for a move to the Clippers. A few months later, according to reports at the time, he turned down a veteran minimum offer from the New York Knicks because he believed he was worth more on the market. His relationship with agent Bernie Lee ended not long afterward.
A year later, those demands are gone. Simmons made more than $40 million in the final season of the five-year, $177.2 million deal he once signed. Now he is trying to earn a guaranteed NBA roster spot.
The Player Philadelphia Once Built Around
For years, he has been asked whether he could ever get back to being the player Philadelphia thought it was taking with the No. 1 pick in 2016. He became a three-time All-Star, made an All-NBA Third Team and was twice selected to the All-Defensive First Team. At 6-foot-10, he could lead the break like a guard, use his size against smaller defenders and switch onto just about any perimeter player.
The lack of a jumper was always there. At the time, it did not seem serious enough to wipe out everything else he brought. The famous possession against Atlanta in the 2021 playoffs, when Simmons passed up what was essentially an open dunk and gave the ball to Matisse Thybulle, eventually became the image attached to his entire decline. He scored 19 points total over the final three games of that series and did not attempt a field goal in the fourth quarter of any of them.
After that, almost everything that happened to him was easy to explain as a confidence problem, fear around the rim or simply a lack of desire. His back problems got pushed to the side of the conversation.
The Physical Decline Was Never Just About Confidence
Two surgeries in less than three years, nerve issues and long stretches of rehab are a serious burden for any professional athlete, especially one whose game depended so heavily on athleticism. Simmons was unusual because he could move a body that size like a much smaller player. Lose some explosiveness, change of direction and trust in your own body, and it is not just a few transition points that disappear. Much of the game that made him special goes with it.
Simmons was described as fully healthy before the 2023/24 season. He played 15 games. The next year he managed 51 appearances between Brooklyn and the Los Angeles Clippers, which was at least progress in terms of availability, but there was little to suggest he was getting back to his old level. His role shrank further with the Clippers, and after that season he decided to sit out 2025/26 altogether.
For Once, Simmons Chose to Step Away
That part is worth noting because most of his previous stops were not really his choice. For years, his body had decided when he was done. This time Simmons stepped away from the NBA grind himself.
He got seriously involved in competitive fishing, bought a majority stake in the South Florida Sails Angling Club and said he needed some distance and room for himself. During the playoffs, the urge to play basketball started coming back. There is no need to turn that into a sentimental story about Simmons rediscovering his love for the game. After a year away, he decided he wanted another shot. At 30, there is still time, but what matters is what he thinks he can get back.
Chasing the Old Simmons Would Be the Wrong Goal
If he is chasing the old Ben Simmons, there is not much reason for optimism. The athlete who was in the Defensive Player of the Year conversation, grabbed a rebound and created an advantage at the other end within seconds probably belongs to an earlier part of his career. He does not need to become that player again to make it back into the league.
A healthy Simmons can still help in a much smaller role. He is still a big playmaker with good court vision, he can rebound, push in transition, create as a secondary ball handler and defend multiple positions. Put him on a team that already has enough shooting and players capable of running the offense, and nobody needs him to score 15 points or have the ball late in games.
He Still Has to Make Defenses Guard Him
He does need to give defenses some reason to guard him. If Simmons stops attacking the rim again, opponents will go right back to what worked before. They will give him space, clog passing lanes and use his defender as extra help. Nobody is asking a 30-year-old Ben Simmons to suddenly become a three-point shooter, but he has to be willing to finish when he gets into the paint. Otherwise, some of the value of his passing disappears with it. That is a much more reasonable standard for this comeback than talking about All-Star form.
Australia will give him an early chance to show how serious he is. Simmons made his senior national team debut at 17 but has never played in the Olympics. Over the years, he withdrew to focus on individual work, then injuries got in the way, while the Boomers won an Olympic medal without him and began turning toward another generation. Los Angeles 2028 cannot simply become another goal mentioned three years in advance. If he wants to be there, he will have to rebuild his place within the national team.
August Photos No Longer Matter
The NBA is a harder test. How Simmons looks in August matters very little by now, what matters is how his body responds after two or three months of games, flights and practices, how he handles nights when he plays ten minutes and what happens after a few bad performances. In the past, teams had financial reasons to keep trying to get him right. A veteran minimum contract changes that calculation quickly.
That also makes this a cleaner opportunity than most he has had in recent years. Nobody needs him to be the former No. 1 pick, an All-Star or the face of a franchise. He needs to stay on the floor often enough to earn minutes and give his team something useful when he gets them. At this point, that would be enough.