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A busted NBA prodigy has another career in mind.
Named to three All-Star games in his first five NBA seasons, Ben Simmons was a defensive prodigy but suddenly became a travesty.
Simmons, still only 29 years old, has not played this season but has been active elsewhere by purchasing an ownership stake in the Sports Fishing Championships South Florida Sails Angling Club. Simmons grew up in Australia where fishing was a regular activity.
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Los Angeles Clippers guard Ben Simmons in the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. (Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images)
“I’ve always believed that investing in what you love means you have a responsibility to help move it forward,” Simmons said in a statement. “Sport fishing has given me incredible experiences and SFC is creating a platform that treats offshore fishing like the elite sport it is.”
Simmons told Andscape that the SFC is the “LIV Golf” and “F1” of fishing.
“The first real competitive sport fishing championship. It’s a 16-team league that’s growing and expanding. So we go out there and compete in different tournaments and a champion will be crowned at the end. It’s a points system. So you fish for all white marlin, blue marlin and every stripe of marlin point systems.” Simmons told the magazine.
Brooklyn Nets injured guard Ben Simmons (10) during a time out in the third quarter against the Atlanta Hawks at Barclays Center. (Brad Penner/USA TODAY Sports)
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“It’s a very niche sport. And if you don’t know it, you don’t know it. But once you experience it and get out there and see what it’s all about, you’re kind of in awe of what the sport is. And that’s just something I’ve always been interested in in relation to the sport of fishing. The technique. And there’s so much to it that people just don’t understand these days, and they’re fishing today and vessels. at some point. So it’s boring and cruel, but it’s one of those worlds where you just have to experience it, get into it and see what it’s all about.
Drafted first overall by the Philadelphia 76ers in 2016, Simmons spent six seasons with them but did not play in two of them. He missed his rookie year due to injuries, and he missed the 2021-22 campaign due to injuries and a holdout. With Philadelphia, he was a triple-double threat, averaging 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists.
He was then part of the blockbuster James Harden trade that sent him to the Brooklyn Nets, where the flame officially began. With Brooklyn, he averaged 6.5 points, 6.3 assists and 6.2 rebounds in 90 games over four seasons.
Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets prepares to shoot a free throw against the Philadelphia 76ers during a preseason game on October 3, 2022 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. (Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)
Simmons played 18 games for the Los Angeles Clippers last season, and those numbers were cut by more than half.
