Nets’ Ben Simmons Diagnosed with Nerve Impingement in Back

Nets guard/forward Ben Simmons has been diagnosed with nerve irritation on the lower left side of his body and will miss some time, agent Bernie Lee told Brian Lewis of the New York Post.

Simmons has been sidelined the past three games, as he was listed on the injury report with a left hip contusion, however, in a recent statement released by the Nets, after undergoing an MRI, the imaging revealed a nerve impingement in the lower left side of his back.

That is to say, the three-time all-star will not need surgery, and Simmons will continue to receive treatment on both his hip and back, then after one week, there will be a status update regarding more of a timetable of when he can return to the court. Moreover, the hope is that Simmons will be able to resume his season in a short period after going through some rehab, with his improvement being monitored on more of a day-to-day basis compared to a multiple-week evaluation. 

Important to note, that Simmons, 27, has been prone to this kind of injury in the past, as he sat out the 2021-22 season because of a back injury that required surgery on multiple herniated disks on the right side of his back, then subsequently suffered a nerve impingement.

Notably, this current injury discomfort is reportedly less severe and is on the other side, the lower left portion of his back, so not as concerning as it may seem.

Simmons, 27, has averaged 6.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 6.7 assists throughout his first six games so far this season. As Simmons continues to be out for the immediate future, the Nets will be missing a key defender and facilitator, which will result in more minutes in the rotation for Dorian Finney-Smith, Royce O’Neale, and Dennis Smith Jr., who may alternate in the starting lineups. In other injury news, guard Cam Thomas, who was averaging 27 points per game, will be sidelined for around 1-2 more weeks with a left ankle sprain that he suffered last week vs. the Clippers. 

On a positive note, Nic Claxton (ankle) and Cameron Johnson (calf) have recently returned to the Nets’ starting rotation after recovering from early-season injuries. Despite catching the injury bug at the start of the season, the Nets currently sit with a 5-5 record, and will try to contend in the Eastern Conference with key contributors Simmons and Thomas sidelined for the time being.