Few No. 1 overall picks have had as tumultuous a career as Ben Simmons. The Philadelphia 76ers took him with the top selection of the 2016 NBA Draft, hoping he’d be a key part of “The Process” rebuilding they were doing alongside Joel Embiid, Jahlil Okafor, and other intriguing young prospects.
Things got off to a shaky start. During the last practice of his rookie season, Simmons injured his foot. X-rays revealed a fractured metatarsal bone, and when it healed improperly, he missed the entire year.
When he finally got on the court, Simmons showed plenty of flashes of greatness. Over his next two seasons, he nearly averaged a triple-double, playing meaningful minutes as the 76ers advanced to the Eastern Conference Semifinals both seasons. The Sixers rewarded Simmons with a five-year, $170 million contract extension, but his career was about to change drastically.
Alex Goodlett/Getty Images
Throughout the 2019-20 season, Simmons played some of his best NBA ball. He led the league in steals and was named to the All-NBA Third Team and the NBA All-Defensive First Team. But during a February game, he suffered a nerve impingement in his lower back.
Simmons returned to the court later that season and played the majority of the 2020-21 campaign, though that back injury may have impacted him more than anyone could have known. He seemed to lose the ability to shoot free throws and was tentative to put up shots at all in key playoff games. After Simmons passed up an open dunk in the final minutes of a Game 7 loss against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference Semifinals, he was criticized by Embiid and then-head coach Doc Rivers.
Simmons requested a trade and sat out the rest of his 76ers career. He claimed to have mental health issues, and as he missed practices and games, the team began fining him. The fines amounted to tens of millions of dollars, though the two sides eventually settled on an agreement for the Sixers to pay back some of that money.
Still, Simmons missed an entire season and a half before Philadelphia traded him to the Brooklyn Nets in 2022. Simmons never reached seven points a game over the next four seasons, and he suffered more injuries to his back and knee, missing significant time. The Nets waived him in 2025 after he played only 90 games in three seasons—all while making $124 million. He signed with the Los Angeles Clippers but had a minimal role, and he was without a team for the entirety of the 2025-26 season.
Though he didn’t appear on an NBA court, Simmons kept himself busy this past year. He has an ownership stake in the South Florida Sails, a team that participates in the Sport Fishing Championship. And his team just won the 2026 SFC’s Walker Cay Open. The Sails scored 2,925 points, more than double that of the second place New Jersey Sea Birds.
Simmons has been a fan of fishing for years, regularly hitting the water while growing up in Australia. During the COVID-19 NBA bubble, he found himself in a viral video moment when he caught a fish but had trouble returning it to the water.
The 29-year-old Simmons hasn’t officially called it quits with the NBA. However, after earning about $203.3 million on the basketball court, he certainly has the means to pursue other passions.
