MIAMI – Ben Simmons hasn’t played since Feb. 15, before the Nets shut him down for the season with a bad back.

But his return to the court might not come in training camp or preseason – but a month earlier in the FIBA World Cup.

Australian National Team head coach Brian Goorjian had already stated there was a “really strong chance” Simmons could compete in the FIBA World Cup.

Now Simmons has said he hopes to join the Boomers, who’ll tip off the tournament in Okinawa on Aug. 25 – about a month before Nets camp starts.

“I’m currently rehabilitating my back injury and putting my full effort and focus towards that,” Simmons told the Daily Telegraph in Sydney. “I love what coach Goorjian is building with the Boomers and I look forward to being a part of the program in the future.”

Brooklyn desperately needs Simmons to be a productive part of their future.

Despite the rapid emergence of Mikal Bridges, the fact remains no other Nets player on the roster has ever made an All-Star game, while Simmons has made three.

Getting him on the court and at least back to a modicum of his former self is the difference between a soft reboot and a full-on rebuild.

Simmons had microdiscectomy in May 2021 to repair a herniated disc.

He hasn’t played since Feb. 15 thanks to a nerve impingement, common in the aftermath of that operation.

Experts told The Post it could take 18 months from the initial surgery for his nerves to fully heal, meaning about a month into next season.

Sources close to both Simmons and the Nets have told The Post that – as of now – a second surgery isn’t expected, but that will be determined this month.

He’s been working out at HSS Training Center lately, posting multiple early-morning pictures on Instagram last week.

“He’s checking the boxes on meeting different markers along the way; so at this point he does not need surgery,” Nets GM Sean Marks said last month. “That is the hope going forward, that he will not have to endure another surgery and we can keep progressing. The timeline for this is that he’ll be back 100 percent probably by Sept. 1. That would be the goal and he’s a full-go in training camp and ready to go.”

But training camps for the FIBA World Cup usually start the first week of August, with the Aussie camp suggesting the experience would benefit Simmons.

“I think his (Ben’s) mindset is getting healthy, getting in shape and getting ready to play in this (World Cup),” Goorjian told SEN, Australia’s sports radio network. “And I think he has been along that line for a while and I felt it last time.”

Andrew Gaze – who starred collegiately at Seton Hall – agreed that Simmons suiting up for the Boomers would help knock off the rust before the NBA season tips off.

“I think it would be fantastic for him.” Gaze told SEN.