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Ben Simmons is back in the NBA, and everyone seems to have an opinion on it. The Sacramento Kings shocked the basketball community when they announced they were signing Simmons to a standard minimum contract worth $3.5 million last week, following the Australian international not stepping foot on an NBA court since April 2025.
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It happened quickly: initial reports surfaced that Simmons was attempting an NBA comeback via the FIBA World Cup with the Australian national team. Following multiple workouts in which the Kings were in attendance, they moved fast to secure his services before even seeing him compete in training camp.
While it’s a nice story for the former number one overall pick, there have been reactions online, particularly from current and former players. One of those names is feisty defender Patrick Beverley, who believes it’s unfair that Simmons can return after he “quit” on the game.
“I don’t think it’s fair that you can quit the game of basketball and come back,” said Beverley. “Like, you can quit with not having a ton of success. You can quit because the game is hard, and it’s stressful, and you’re not playing well, and the fans are on you, and the media is on you. You can quit and have an opportunity to come back. We’ve been looking at Victor Oladipo, who’s been competing, who’s degraded himself, went to the G League. We witnessed Oladipo like work out in front of a ton of coaches and GMs, writing letters. This is the guy you pick?”
Needless to say, Simmons didn’t like his name being dragged through the mud and went out of his way to call Beverley out.
“Walk away…? I played two years not physically right. This ain’t no handout. I worked my a— off to be in this position. And I’m very grateful to even be in position to play the game I f—king love! Y’all will continue to make up stories for your own benefits, and that’s more telling about who y’all are,” Ben clapped back.
The controversy
Beverley’s comments are interesting, and others in the NBA community share the sentiment. After a reasonably good season with the franchise last campaign, the front office showed lukewarm interest in bringing back Russell Westbrook. Yet, they signed Simmons basically without seeing him in real competition.
The same goes for Oladipo, whom Beverley references. The former standout guard has been public about his attempt to return to the league, but to date, he has yet to receive an invitation back. It’s fascinating that, despite situations similar to Victor’s around the Association, Ben was given a standard deal after being away from the game for so long.
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Can’t teach what he has
It also speaks to Simmons’ undeniable skill set. Yes, depending on how you look at it, he may have been more fortunate than others to be on an NBA roster, but the Aussie also has gifts that others simply don’t have.
You can’t teach 6’10”. You can’t develop the natural playmaking and floor processing he was born with. You can’t deny his rebounding, and there aren’t many better perimeter defenders in the league when they are healthy.
In the end, despite the politics some want to point to, this is the real reason the Kings were comfortable taking a chance on him. Everyone knows there is a world where Simmons isn’t remotely close to the All-NBA performer he was in 2020, but now that he’s healthy, if there is any version of his former self that still exists, this will undoubtedly be one of the best players on the Kings’ roster.
We live in a positionless league, and outside of the jump shooting and elite scoring ability, there isn’t anything Simmons can’t do on the floor. It’s clear the Kings’ front office valued his archetype on a roster that has next-to-no passing talent, and while Beverley may make valid points, he also doesn’t know what it takes to be an All-Star caliber player either.
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