Ben Simmons crashed out of the 2022/23 NBA season on March 28. The Australian combo player had struggled with nerve inflammation for most of the month, as well as dealing with a number of other injuries over the course of the season. The Nets, cautious about injuring Simmons further, opted to shut him down for the season as opposed to rushing him back for the playoffs.
Despite stating that his aim was to return to action at the FIBA World Cup, Simmons was not named to Australia’s 12-man roster. Meanwhile, Nets GM Sean Marks said that Simmons was not rushing his recovery. That became abundantly clear with Simmons’ latest Instagram post.
Read More: Injury recovery forces Giannis to withdraw from the FIBA World Cup
Simmons Gone Fishing
In a video posted to his Instagram, Simmons showed how he was taking some time away from the court to get in a spot of fishing. “Quick fishing trip for the weekend,†Simmons wrote as a caption. The video was quickly roasted along some familiar lines. “This n*gga been going fishing his entire career,†one person wrote. “Bro already in 2024 off-season mode😂,†added another. In 42 games last season, Simmons had 6.9/6.3/6.1 per game. While he has posted some updates since he went down, his progress has seemed minimal.
Simmons, the first-overall pick in 2016, has never really lived up to that status. Injuries have limited him to less than 60 games in each of the last three seasons and even then, his numbers have not been stellar. His best year was 2018/19 when he put 16.9/8.8/7.7 per game. And it’s not like the 2016 class was especially weak. Jaylen Brown, Jamal Murray, and Pascal Siakim were all 2016 draft picks as well. Entering his second season with the Nets, it’s unclear just how much time Simmons is going to spend on the court. That could prove costly, as he is owed nearly $80 million over the next two seasons. When do you think Simmons will return to action? Let us know in the comments. Follow all the latest sports news here at HotNewHipHop.
Read More: Rudy Gobert makes first career three-pointer, immediately makes things weird
[via]
