Ben Simmons crashed out of the 2022/23 NBA season on March 28. The Australian combo player had struggled with nerve inflammation for most of the month, as well as dealing with a number of other injuries over the course of the season. The Nets, cautious about injuring Simmons further, opted to shut him down for the season as opposed to rushing him back for the playoffs. Despite stating that his aim was to return to action at the FIBA World Cup, Simmons was not named to Australia’s 12-man roster. Meanwhile, Nets GM Sean Marks said that Simmons was not rushing his recovery.
While Simmons' return to the 2023/24 season is not set in stone, he has made his one recovery milestone very clear. "Olympics? Yeah, 100%. And that’s what I want to do next year," Simmons told Andscape's Marc J. Spears. "I want to play. That’s the other thing. I get messages from Australian people like, ‘Yo, you should be playing right now. Jock Landale is playing right now.’ To me, I’m going to play when I’m ready. There hasn’t really been a time where I’ve been prepared and ready physically. But next year, my goal is to be on the Olympic team."
Simmons Eyes Boomers Debut
While Simmons has been named to the Australian National Team several times during his career, he has never appeared in a game for his country. Could that all change in Paris next year? Australia secured their place in the tournament after guaranteeing that they would be the highest-placed nation from Oceania at the 2023 FIBA World Cup. In fact, Australia is the only men's team other than hosts France to have secured qualification. Simmons had been named to Australia's Tokyo 2020 roster. However, he chose to miss the tournament to focus on preparing for the 2021/22 NBA season.
Australia has finished as semifinalists at the last two Olympic tournaments. In Tokyo, they earned their first basketball medal with a bronze. They will be hoping to ride their recent wave of momentum into a potential gold medal match come Paris next year. As for Simmons, it is clear that the Australian national team holds him in high regard. However, it will be a matter of how well he can bounce back from injury, and how he stacks up against other players at his position that will determine whether he will finally get his shot with the Boomers.
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