Ben Simmons Says He Owes it to the Fans to Make an Impact at the Brooklyn Nets

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In recent years, things have been pretty torrid for Ben Simmons and, indeed, any franchise he’s represented over the period. However, the Australian-born 27-year-old is now determined to get his faltering career back on track. 

Over the past two seasons, Simmons has suffered from injuries and off-field issues that saw him fined ad infinitum during the final throes of his Philadelphia 76ers, but now he’s hoping to make up for lost time. 

Make no mistake, on his best day, Simmons is a high-quality performer; we are, after all, a three-time NBA All-Star pick. He moved to the Barclays Center as part of a move that saw James Harden move in the opposite direction in February 2022, but started just 33 games last season after missing the entirety of the previous campaign. 

Head coach Jacque Vaughn will be counting on Simmons to make an impact in 2023/24, and fans of the Nets who feel that he could help them go deep into the playoff picture may want to couple this assertion with a bet. If so, here’s the skinny on all the best NY sportsbooks, offering you helpful insights into what they have to offer you and your wagering plans. 

On his travails over the last couple of years, Simmons has been trying to make sense of what’s been happening and how circumstances have held up his burgeoning NBA career. He said, according to the New York Post:

“I’d say [the hardest part was] not be able to do your job to the fullest. I never have excuses; I never tried to say anything about different things going on. But I was dealing with an injury at the time, so I did what I could in the moment. And I owe it to everybody, the fans and everybody, to get back to where I need to be. That’s what I did this summer to get back.”

On his fitness, Simmons added, according to the New York Post:

“[I feel] amazing. I think this is the first summer where I’ve really had to just get healthy and get back on track to where I need to be. I’m super excited to be on Brooklyn, obviously. And then we’ve got a great, great team, a great coach in Jacque Vaughn. So I’m excited. I think this year is gonna be a completely different year to the past couple.”

One only has to hope he’s right. Clearly, he is not without guilt as to why his NBA road has been rocky, but no doubt he’s well aware of what’s needed to get himself back to where he was before this whole mess began.

As to what’s exciting him about the upcoming new season, Simmons said, according to the New York Post:

“I think just playing with guys who are just easy to play with, that just have one goal and that’s to win. I don’t think guys have too many individual goals. I think the team is going to come first and I think the culture that Jacque Vaughn, [general manager] Sean Marks are building now has been incredible.”

Brooklyn’s regular season gets underway on October 25th, when they will host the Cleveland Cavaliers before going on a four-game road trip to take on the Mavericks, the Hornets, the Heat, and the Bulls. 

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