A year away from basketball apparently did Ben Simmons some good. Just don’t suggest he took the year off because he doesn’t care about the game.
“That’s bulls–t,” Simmons said Monday at Kings Media Day, via Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee.
Simmons didn’t play anywhere last season, choosing instead to give his surgically repaired back time to heal. He said he didn’t even touch a basketball or watch the NBA. He basically disappeared from the sport.
“I just focused on getting my body right and my mind right,” Simmons said. “I knew at the time when I was ready to go, it would click, and that’s what happened.”
Simmons said there’s now a “night and day” difference in how he feels mentally compared to his previous NBA stop. Physically, he says he finally feels like himself again, too.
That’s significant given how much basketball Simmons has missed. He sat out his entire rookie season with a foot injury and all of 2021-22 amid a holdout and back problems. More back trouble followed.
Still, Simmons bristled at the idea that any of it means he doesn’t love basketball.
“It wasn’t about if I wanted to play,” he said. “All these people talk about I don’t love the game. That’s bulls–t. I love this game.”
That said, Sacramento signed the three-time All-Star to a non-guaranteed minimum deal. In other words, there aren’t many guarantees surrounding Simmons anymore.
His expectations for himself remain considerably higher, as he told reporters his goal is to “dominate” whenever he’s on the floor.
It’s been a while since anyone used that word and Ben Simmons in the same sentence. He’d very much like to change that.
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