Nets star Ben Simmons’ on track to join Boomers World Cup squad
June 6, 2023
Ben Simmons
- Nationality: AUS
- Date of Birth: 20/07/96
- Place of Birth: Melbourne (VIC)
- Position: G/F
- Height (CM): 211
- Weight (KG): 108
- Junior Assoc: NSW - Newcastle
- College: LSU (2015–2016)
- AGE AT DEBUT: 0
- LAST NBL GAME: 30/12/99
- AGE AT LAST GAME: 0
- Championships: 0
- None
BIO: Ben Simmons was born in the Melbourne suburb of Fitzroy to father Dave and mother Julie. His father was playing basketball for the Melbourne Tigers as a import. Simmons was raised in Newcastle from the age of 18 months while his father played for the Newcastle Falcons. Simmons began playing basketball at the age of seven with the team’s junior program, the Newcastle Hunters. While in Newcastle, he also played junior rugby league.
At age 10, Simmons returned to Melbourne and began playing junior basketball for the Knox Raiders. Along with basketball, he also played Australian rules football at the junior level. As a teenager, Simmons was torn between his two loves of basketball and Australian rules football, but eventually decided to focus on basketball.
Simmons attended Box Hill Senior Secondary College before taking up a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport in 2012. He spent one year there and played for the program’s state league team.
FAMILY: Ben Simmons is the son of Dave Simmons who played 338 games in the NBL.
NBL EXPERIENCE
Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.
CAREER HIGHS
| POINTS | REBOUNDS | ASSISTS | STEALS | BLOCKS | TURNOVERS | TRIPLE DOUBLES | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|---|
STATE LEAGUE EXPERIENCE
- AIS 2012
FIBA EXPERIENCE
Despite being only 15 years old, he was chosen to represent Australia at the 2012 FIBA Under-17 World Championship. He helped his team win a silver medal.[
A year later, after participating in the Australian Boomers camp ahead of the Sino-Australia Challenge, Simmons made his senior debut for Australia in the 2013 FIBA Oceania Championship against New Zealand.
In July 2014, Simmons was added to the Boomers extended squad for the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup. However, he was later cut from the squad as he did not make the final 12-man roster. In August 2015, Simmons signaled his intentions to represent Australia at the 2016 Olympics and said he was aiming to win a medal. However, In April 2016,, Simmons instead decided to not join the Boomers for the Rio Olympics in order to concentrate on preparing for his rookie season in the NBA.
On 15 May 2019, Simmons confirmed he would represent Australia in the 2019 FIBA World Cup and multiple exhibition games against Canada and the United States. In July 2019, Simmons announced that he would not play for the Australian national team in 2019, citing "professional obligations."
In October 2017, Simmons made clear his intentions to represent Australia at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. However, he withdraw from the Australia Olympic squad in order to focus on improving his shooting skills for the upcoming 2021/22 season.
NBA EXPERIENCE
Ben Simmons was drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with pick #1 in the 2016 NBA Draft.
Simmons played 332 games in the NBA. He averaged 14.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 7.4 assists per game over his NBA career.
NBA TRANSACTIONS:
- June 23, 2016: Drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1st round (1st pick) of the 2016 NBA Draft.
-
July 2, 2016: Signed a multi-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers.
-
July 16, 2019: Signed a multi-year contract with the Philadelphia 76ers. (Signing is extension on deal signed in 2016.)
-
February 10, 2022: Traded by the Philadelphia 76ers with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond, a 2023 1st round draft pick (Brice Sensabaugh was later selected) and a 2027 1st round draft pick ( was later selected) to the Brooklyn Nets for James Harden and Paul Millsap. Philadelphia also received a trade exception 2023 1st-rd pick was originally a 2022 pick that was deferred 2027 1st-rd pick is top-8 protected and could turn into cash in 2029
| Season | Team | PTS | AST | STL | BLK | FGM | FGA | FG% | 3PM | 3PA | 3P% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | ||||||
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||||
| Total | 0 | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0 | 0.0% |
NBA TOTAL STATISTICS
| YEAR | AGE | TEAM | POS | GP | GS | MINS | PTS | TRB | AST | ORB | DRB | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 21 | Philadelphia | PG | 81 | 81 | 2732 | 1279 | 659 | 661 | 145 | 514 | 140 | 70 | 278 | 211 | 544 | 998 | 55% | 0 | 11 | 0% | 191 | 341 | 56% | 56% | 55% |
| 2018-19 | 22 | Philadelphia | PG | 79 | 79 | 2700 | 1337 | 697 | 610 | 172 | 525 | 112 | 61 | 274 | 209 | 540 | 960 | 56% | 0 | 6 | 0% | 257 | 428 | 60% | 58% | 56% |
| 2019-20 | 23 | Philadelphia | PG | 57 | 57 | 2017 | 937 | 444 | 455 | 113 | 331 | 119 | 33 | 200 | 186 | 375 | 647 | 58% | 2 | 7 | 29% | 185 | 298 | 62% | 60% | 58% |
| 2020-21 | 24 | Philadelphia | PG | 58 | 58 | 1877 | 829 | 417 | 401 | 93 | 324 | 93 | 35 | 173 | 171 | 325 | 583 | 56% | 3 | 10 | 30% | 176 | 287 | 61% | 58% | 56% |
| 2022-23 | 26 | Brooklyn | PG | 42 | 33 | 1105 | 291 | 263 | 256 | 40 | 223 | 54 | 24 | 97 | 139 | 133 | 235 | 0 | 2 | 25 | 57 | 56% | 57% | |||
| 2023-24 | 27 | Brooklyn | PG | 15 | 12 | 359 | 92 | 119 | 86 | 31 | 88 | 12 | 9 | 27 | 36 | 43 | 74 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 15 | 57% | 58% | Total | 332 | 320 | 10790 | 4765 | 2599 | 2469 | 594 | 2005 | 530 | 232 | 1049 | 952 | 1960 | 3497 | 56% | 5 | 36 | 14% | 840 | 1426 | 59% |
NBA PER GAME STATISTICS
| YEAR | AGE | TEAM | POS | GP | GS | MINS | PTS | TRB | AST | ORB | DRB | STL | BLK | TOV | PF | FG | FGA | FG% | 3P | 3PA | 3P% | FT | FTA | FT% | TS% | EFG% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 21 | Philadelphia | PG | 81 | 81 | 33.7 | 15.8 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 1.8 | 6.3 | 1.7 | 0.9 | 3.4 | 2.6 | 6.7 | 12.3 | 55% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0% | 2.4 | 4.2 | 56% | 56% | 55% |
| 2018-19 | 22 | Philadelphia | PG | 79 | 79 | 34.2 | 16.9 | 8.8 | 7.7 | 2.2 | 6.6 | 1.4 | 0.8 | 3.5 | 2.6 | 6.8 | 12.2 | 56% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 0% | 3.3 | 5.4 | 60% | 58% | 56% |
| 2019-20 | 23 | Philadelphia | PG | 57 | 57 | 35.4 | 16.4 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 2.0 | 5.8 | 2.1 | 0.6 | 3.5 | 3.3 | 6.6 | 11.4 | 58% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 29% | 3.2 | 5.2 | 62% | 60% | 58% |
| 2020-21 | 24 | Philadelphia | PG | 58 | 58 | 32.4 | 14.3 | 7.2 | 6.9 | 1.6 | 5.6 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 3.0 | 2.9 | 5.6 | 10.1 | 56% | 0.1 | 0.2 | 30% | 3.0 | 4.9 | 61% | 58% | 56% |
| 2022-23 | 26 | Brooklyn | PG | 42 | 33 | 26.3 | 6.9 | 6.3 | 6.1 | 1.0 | 5.3 | 1.3 | 0.6 | 2.3 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 5.6 | 57% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.6 | 1.4 | 56% | 57% | ||
| 2023-24 | 27 | Brooklyn | PG | 15 | 12 | 23.9 | 6.1 | 7.9 | 5.7 | 2.1 | 5.9 | 0.8 | 0.6 | 1.8 | 2.4 | 2.9 | 4.9 | 58% | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 | 1.0 | 57% | 58% | Total | 332 | 320 | 32.5 | 14.4 | 7.8 | 7.4 | 1.8 | 6.0 | 1.6 | 0.7 | 3.2 | 2.9 | 5.9 | 10.5 | 56% | 0.0 | 0.1 | 14% | 2.5 | 4.3 | 59% |
COLLEGE
Simmons made his debut for LSU on 15 August in a 89–75 win over the Newcastle All-Stars in the first game of LSU's preseason Australia trip. His double-double of 22 points and 10 rebounds led the way for the Tigers, playing at the Newcastle Basketball Stadium where his father played professionally for the Newcastle Falcons in the late 1990s.
On 13 November 2015, Simmons made his college debut in LSU's season opener, recording a double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds as a starter in a win over McNeese State.[50] He helped LSU start the season 3–0 before recording 21 points, 20 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals in a loss to Marquette on 23 November.] On 2 December, he helped LSU break a three-game losing streak by recording 43 points, 14 rebounds, 7 assists, 5 steals and 3 blocks in a 119–108 win over North Florida. His 43 points were the most for a Tigers player since Shaquille O'Neal had 43 against Northern Arizona on 28 December 1991. After recording 14 points and 10 rebounds in a win over Kentucky on 5 January 2016, Simmons was dubbed the best all-around player since LeBron James by NBA Hall of Famer Magic Johnson. On 11 February, he was named to the 35-man midseason watchlist for the Naismith Trophy. Nine days later, Simmons came off the bench for the first time after being removed from LSU's starting lineup for their game against Tennessee due to academic reasons. Following the conclusion of the regular season, Simmons was named first-team All-Southeastern Conference and the League Freshman of the Year on the 2016 Coaches SEC voting. He was also named to the eight-player All-SEC Freshman team. LSU finished the regular season with a 18–13 record, including 11–7 in SEC play.
As the fourth seed in the 2016 SEC Tournament, Simmons helped LSU (18–13) defeat Tennessee in the Quarterfinalsto move on to the semi finals where they faced first-seeded Texas A&M. LSU bowed out of the tournament with a demoralising 71–38 loss to the Aggies, as Simmons was unsuccessful in leading the Tigers to a NCAA tournament berth. Simmons completed the 2015/16 season having played in 33 games with 32 starts. He led the team in all major statistical categories except three-point and free throw shooting, finishing with averages of 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 2.0 steals and 0.8 blocks in 34.9 minutes per game, while shooting 56.0% from the field, 33.3% from three-point range and 67.0% from the free throw line. In the SEC, he ranked fourth in points, first in rebounds, third in field goal percentage, fifth in assists, and second in steals.
AWARDS
- McDonald's All-American (2015)
Related
HAVE MORE INFORMATION ON THIS PLAYER?
Whilst we try to source as much information as we can for every player who has ever played in the NBL some information on a player profile may be missing. If you have additional information on a player you'd like us to add to a profile, please send it to us using the enquiry form below.
Submissions are then sent to info@aussiehoopla.com
