For the first time in a long time — probably three years — Ben Simmons is coming into training camp healthy physically and mentally, both his back and his headspace finally in a good place.
“I’m playing. I’m back on five-on-five and I’m back on the court playing,” Simmons said Monday. “[It feels] amazing. I get to do my job, and that’s a blessing. Every day, I don’t take for granted. I just come in here and do my job to the best of my ability. I’m grateful to be back and just on the court playing and doing what I love.”
That’s music to the Nets’ ears.
Getting the only All-Star on the roster back to his former self is Priority No. 1 in accelerating their rebuild.
“This team goes as far as Ben and Mikal [Bridges] take it,” Spencer Dinwiddie said. “We know who Ben can be when he’s healthy and right and in a good space; and that’s what we hope for obviously, because to be the best possible team we can be, we need that.”
Two years ago Simmons held out from 76ers camp citing mental health woes, and a year ago he was only five months removed from back surgery, one he clearly rushed back from far too quickly.
Simmons had microdiscectomy surgery for a herniated L-4 disk on May 5, 2022.
Despite experts telling The Post it could take 18 months to recover, he played through pain and averaged just 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists, eventually getting shut down after 42 ineffective appearances.
Sources told The Post that if Simmons had been healthy, Durant likely would’ve stayed in Brooklyn with or without Kyrie Irving.
And Damian Lillard reportedly viewed Simmons and Bridges as attractive potential teammates.
Now the 27-year-old has taken the summer to sort out his mental and physical health.
“I feel great,” Simmons said. “As it is physically, your mental [health] is very important. So it’s just doing the things that work best for you. For me, it’s a lot of meditation. And then physically, that’s all a part of it, too. So when you’re at your best physically, that helps your mental also. So it’s being in a place now and it’s just great. And I’m very blessed to be able to get on the court and play.”
It wasn’t just Durant who had questions.
But after a rocky start to his relationship with Jacque Vaughn, Simmons has gotten to a better place with his coach by showing first-hand the offseason work he has put in.
“Our relationship was a little up and down obviously from the start,” Simmons said. “It’s hard for a coach to really trust and believe in you when he’s not seeing it, right? And I’m not able to physically do it. You can’t see it. As a coach, I’d do the same thing: I’m not going to play you when you’re not able to compete and do the things I know you can do, right?
“So this summer, I’ve taken the time to get healthy, obviously. He came down to Miami a few times and saw me: That’s what it was. He was able to see me get healthy, put the work in and put the time in and focus on myself and show him that I want to play at this level and be the point guard and do these things. So that comes with grace. When you put that work in, you’re going to get grace from the surrounding people, your teammates, your coaches, and staff.”
In four healthy Sixers seasons, Simmons averaged 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists, and was runner-up for defensive player of the year in the last one.
“He looks good, like, real good. And that’s just a big factor for us, on what we want to be, what we’re trying to get to is him,” Bridges said. “I know he’s happy as hell that he feels good. We’re going to need him. He’s a big part of his team. The things he can do, mismatch problems on both ends of the court, will be really helpful for us.”
That includes switching 1-through-5 on defense, and being arguably the league’s best shot creator for others on offense.
He created 996 3-pointers from 2017-18 through 2020-21, second in the league per Elias Sports Bureau.
“There’s not many players in the league that can do what he does. His size and athleticism, and his ability to distribute the ball, defend, rebound, score the ball. He’s a setup guy, and for myself, I can really benefit playing with him,” Cam Johnson said. “I think it can bear a lot of fruit.”