It’s the first week of training camp, so it should come as no surprise that players are “in the best shape of my life” and all “have something to prove.”

In Ben Simmons’ case, though, the past two seasons have been ugly, so a return to form would be especially welcome.

And according to his teammates and head coach Jacque Vaughn, the former All-Star has looked like his old self.

“He looks really, really good,’’ Nic Claxton said Thursday at the Nets’ training facility in Brooklyn. “He’s aggressive. He’s feeling good about himself. … It’s a different energy about him. I’m excited to see what he does this year. I know he has a lot to prove to himself [and] prove to everybody else. So I’m ready to go to war with him.”

It has been a long time since Simmons has impressed anyone on the court.

After sitting out the first part of the 2021 season and then being traded to the Nets in February 2022, Simmons has dealt with back and left knee injuries that have severely limited him when he’s even been able to get on the court.

For a team that doesn’t have a pick in next year’s draft, the Nets could certainly use an impactful Simmons to make themselves competitive this year.

“He’s looked great,’’ Spencer Dinwiddie said. “I think he’s in shape. I think he’s playing hard, running hard. In transition, he gets out in passing lanes to get deflections, things of that nature. He’s really setting the table for guys [and] playing at a high level.”

Simmons appeared in just 42 games last season and posted the worst numbers of his career (6.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds per game).

Now 27, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2016 draft should be able to make a difference if injuries haven’t already taken too much of a toll.

“Ben, having been the only person on this roster to make an All-Star team, he’s got to play at that level for us to have a chance to be good,’’ Dinwiddie said. “We don’t have our [draft] picks, so we want to make the playoffs, at least. We get no benefit out of tanking, so we’re gonna need all of that.”

For Vaughn, the bar for Simmons this training camp has been low.

Asked what’s stood out about him, Vaughn said, “I think, you know, it’s just good to have him around his teammates and be a part of the team and grinding with everyone else.’’

He even pointed to the upcoming road trip to play the Lakers in Las Vegas.

“All of those little things that he wasn’t able to participate in fully all the time that make you a teammate,’’ Vaughn said.

The true test will begin when the regular season starts on Oct. 25 against Cleveland.