The Sacramento Kings have signed Australian basketball star Ben Simmons of Melbourne to a one-year contract worth $3.5 million according to the Associated Press on Friday. Simmons did not play the 2025-26 National Basketball Association season to deal with injuries to his back and leg.
This was the second time in Simmons’s career he missed the full season with back and leg ailments. He did not play the 2021-22 season either. Simmons also missed the 2016-17 NBA rookie season with the Philadelphia 76ers because of a foot injury.
Expectations were high for Simmons at the beginning of his NBA career. That is because he was the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft by the 76ers out of Louisiana State University. However, it is fair to say Simmons never fully met expectations in Philly. He was actually suspended by Philadelphia before being traded to Brooklyn for James Harden in a blockbuster deal on February 10, 2022.
There had been growing speculation that Simmons might return to the 76ers. However, they were only rumours, and never came to fruition.
Simmons is joining his fourth NBA franchise. He previously played four seasons with the 76ers from 2017 to 2021, three seasons with the Nets from 2022 to 2025, and one season with the Los Angeles Clippers in 2025.
In 383 NBA regular season games, Simmons has averaged 13.1 points per game, 7.4 rebounds per game, and 7.2 assists per game. He led the NBA with 2.1 steals per game in 2019-20, and was a three-time All-Star with the 76ers for three consecutive seasons from 2019 to 2021.
