Nov 22, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Brooklyn Nets guard Ben Simmons stands for the anthem before action against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center. Mandatory Credit: Bill Streicher-Imagn Images Bill Streicher
Ben Simmons is now involved in the world of competitive fishing, but you shouldn't believe headlines/graphics that lead you to believe the former Rookie of the Year has paused his NBA career.
Simmons spoke to Marc J. Spears of Andscape for a lengthy story that's worth your time. In the piece, the three-time All-Star revealed that he's "the new controlling operator of the South Florida Sails of the Sport Fishing Championship":
"Founded in 2021, SFC is a professional offshore saltwater fishing league with tournaments featuring pro anglers.
“The way I see it, it’s like the new F1 [Formula 1] for fishing. The new LIV Golf for fishing,” Simmons told Andscape from his rented home last Friday. “The first real competitive sport fishing championship. It’s a league of 16 teams, which is growing and expanding. And so, we’ll go out there and compete in various different tournaments, and there’ll be a champion crowned at the end. It’s a point-scored system. So, you’re fishing for white marlin, blue marlin, sailfish and striped marlin. There are all different point systems for each one."
We're not going to repost a significant chunk of the story here, because the full one is an interesting look into where Simmons — still only 29 — is in both his career and life.
There have been quite a few social media posts since Spears' story came out clowning Simmons, and it makes it clear that many didn't actually read the piece:
Ben Simmons is putting the NBA on hold to pursue a successful career in pro fishing, per @MarcJSpears.
(h/t @Fullcourtpass) pic.twitter.com/vN3gSQHD1x
Ben Simmons has stepped away from basketball to focus on his professional fishing career
Per @MarcJSpears pic.twitter.com/DecMm4Yok7
Ben Simmons is putting his NBA career on hold to pursue a career in pro fishing 🐟 pic.twitter.com/rQcxYhdFFm
At no point in the story does Simmons suggest he's pausing his NBA career or walking away from basketball to focus on fishing. Perhaps the headline of "NBA return on hold, Ben Simmons angling for success in pro fishing" is a bit misleading," but if you click on it, there's a subheading that says "While working on his comeback to basketball, the three-time NBA All-Star is a team owner in Sport Fishing Championship." At a certain point, it's on the reader to, well, read. This wasn't a story with a paywall.
Simmons, per the story, continues to train twice a day, six days a week with the expectation that his NBA career will continue. According to Spears' reporting, Simmons could sign around the NBA All-Star Break, which runs from Feb. 14-19.
Exactly what Simmons has left to offer at this stage is unclear. In parts of three seasons since forcing his way out of Philadelphia, Simmons has averaged just 5.9 points per game, splitting time between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers. Obviously, he hasn't been right physically in some time, and he acknowledged in the story that it probably would have been better for him to have had this type of time off where he isn't employed by a team a few years ago.
It's fair to wonder how committed someone who has made over $200 million in his career is to getting back to the height of his powers when he was an elite distributor and great defender. Yes, he never developed a consistent jump shot, and that's kept him from coming close to the hype he had when he entered the league. But there was still great value in the type of player that he was, and it's surprising he hasn't been able to rediscover that form. Perhaps he will if he signs later this season. If not, he's really rich and has a new hobby to fall back on.
