Ben Simmons : News | Return | Maya jama | Stats

Ben Simmons played his first game in 470 days and he played it alongside new teammates in a fresh offense the Nets’ coaching staff.

Ben Simmons : News | Return | Maya jama | Stats

Benjamin David Simmons is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

He played college basketball for one season with the LSU Tigers, after which he was named a consensus first-team All-American and the USBWA National Freshman of the Year. Simmons was selected with the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA draft by the Philadelphia 76ers.

After sitting out a year due to an injured right foot, he was named the NBA Rookie of the Year in 2018 and was selected three times to the NBA All-Star Game.

As the result of a holdout from the 76ers following the 2020–21 season, which led him to be traded to the Nets, Simmons is the most-fined player in NBA history.

News

Ben Simmons played his first game in 470 days and he played it alongside new teammates in a fresh offense the Nets’ coaching staff recently installed.

“That’s the one thing I thought I would be nervous but I wasn’t nervous,” Simmons said on whether or not he had nerves in his first game back. “I was excited.

To have that feeling to be able to come out and know you are going to play on a NBA floor especially at Barclays with some great players. It’s excitement. Really didn’t have any nerves.”

The result was predictable: to start their first of four preseason games, the Nets looked rusty and at times discombobulated, digging a hole as deep as 20 against a Philadelphia 76ers team resting four key players — Joel Embiid, James Harden, P.J. Tucker and Danuel House — on Monday.

And then Brooklyn’s shots started falling, passes reached their targets, the defense picked up and the score reflected that of a team trying to find itself before the games begin to count.

The Nets undoubtedly have a lot of work to do if they’re going to reach the NBA Finals stage that’s eluded them each of the past two seasons, but for stretches of their 127-108 loss over a shorthanded 76ers team, they looked promising — most promising of all being the motion of what was once a stagnant Nets offense.

Return 

Ben Simmons made his long-delayed Nets debut in Monday’s preseason opener. They didn’t get the win, but they finally got something much better — a healthy Big 3. 

After Simmons missed all of last season with mental health woes and a bad back, and Kyrie Irving’s stance against the COVID-19 vaccine limited him to just 29 games, the pair finally took the court with Kevin Durant. 

The Nets lost, 127-108, to Philadelphia, the team from which Simmons had forced a deadline-day trade. The 76ers’ proximity might explain the mixed reaction to his introduction, a smattering of boos audible in the crowd of 13,250 at Barclays Center. But they didn’t dim his megawatt smile, or the mood behind it. 

“Amazing. I’m grateful just to be able to step on a NBA floor again. I had a lot of fun out there,” Simmons said after his first game in 470 days. “I thought I’d be nervous, but I wasn’t nervous: I was excited. To have that feeling to be able to come out and know you’re going to play on a NBA floor especially at Barclays with some great players, it’s excitement.” 

The Nets’ Big 3 all logged roughly 19 minutes, none in the second half. Looking rustier than the Titanic debris, Brooklyn trailed by 20 in the second quarter before cutting it to three at the break. The 76ers pulled away without Joel Embiid or James Harden, but scores matter little in the preseason, and Monday’s won’t matter at all. 

Ben Simmons maya jama

TV star Maya Jama began dating NBA star Ben Simmons in May 2021 and the pair quickly fell in love.

And it wasn’t long before wedding bells began to ring, when Simmons popped the question just months later in December 2021.

Maya Jama and Ben Simmons have reportedly split and called off their engagement following a “difficult time” over their conflicting schedules.

In July, The Sun exclusively revealed the couple had decided to call it quits and just one month later in August 2022, The New York Post  claimed the pair, realised they were from “two different worlds” – confirming The Sun’s exclusive.

A source has told the publication: ”It’s been a difficult time for them.

“While they both care for each other so much, they truly gave it their all and realise that they just come from two different worlds.

“They now understand they don’t have the time they thought to dedicate to this relationship.”

The source then added: “After many long nights and hours of heartfelt talks, they finally realised as much as they love each other, their nonstop careers and endless travel have made it incredibly impossible to make it work.

Stats

On 3 July 2016, Simmons signed his rookie scale contract with the 76ers and joined the team for the 2016 NBA Summer League.

While he shot the ball poorly during his first three Summer League games, Simmons was praised for his court awareness and passing ability for a big man.

Some pundits doubted his strength, fitness, and scoring prowess after a full season on the sidelines, with only an outside chance for Rookie of the Year.

In his NBA debut on 18 October 2017, Simmons had 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 120–115 season-opening loss to the Washington Wizards.

Simmons was traded, along with Andre Drummond, Seth Curry, and two future first-round picks, to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for James Harden and Paul Millsap.

And on 21 March, Simmons was diagnosed with a herniated disk in his back.

On 4 April, Nets head coach Steve Nash ruled out Simmons for the remainder of the regular season and the play-in tournament.

On 21 April, Simmons reportedly planned to make his season debut in Game 4 against the Boston Celtics during the first round of the playoffs.

And On 24 April, with the Nets facing a sweep to the Celtics, the Nets announced that he would not play in Game 4 due to back soreness.

The Nets lost the game, eliminating them from the playoffs. On 5 May, he underwent back surgery.