NBL call grows louder for Ben Simmons

Over the past few weeks, there has been plenty of chatter around three-time NBA All-Star Ben Simmons and his next stop on the hardwood.

The 29-year-old, who has 422 NBA games to his name, hasn’t featured in a basketball game since the end of the 2024-25 season with the Los Angeles Clippers.

The latest to weigh in on the future of the 2016 first overall Draft pick isAustralian basketball icon Andrew Gaze.

"He's an interesting prospect. If he has the desire, then there's no doubt in my mind, it's still a guy in his late 20s that he could play at a high level,” Gaze told NBL Media.

“He's an NBA All-Star, and provided his body is in the right shape and he's comfortable where he's at, he would dominate this competition.

“[He’s] a 6’10 point guard, a guy that we can equate to Magic Johnson type skills.

“I think this [League] would be a great platform for him to come back and continue his career in basketball. He's a superstar.”

This comes after 2001 NBL champion Damon Lowery called on NBL teams to pick up the phone and reach out to the 2020 All-NBA Third Team selection.

“To all your NBL GMs out there, I know you love basketball, but do you love it enough to reach out to Ben and see how he’s doing?” Lowery said on Instagram.

“[Because] what if a healthy Ben Simmons showed up in NBL27? Can you imagine? It would be carnage.

“Who going to guard him? Because he could guard everyone.

“He would win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in the same year.”

More recently, Australian Boomers assistant and Simmons’ godfather Dave Patrick explained the two-time NBA All-Defensive First Team member harbours an ambition to play at the Olympic Games.

"Believe it or not, he wants to wear it and I think the Olympics is kind of his goal," Boomers assistant and Simmons’ godfather Patrick said on basketball.com.au's Cut to the Jase.

"I think as he's got older and matured, like all of us do, I think that's one thing he hasn't ticked off the box, playing for his country.

“He played at the youth level, but it's nothing like playing with the Boomers.

"So I think he's on track to trying to get healthy mentally and physically, and I think it's something that he will try to do moving forward.

"It'd be an exciting time to hopefully try to get him into LA, but there's some steps in place when you've been out for the year that he has been."

Simmons also won the 2018 NBA Rookie of the Year award, and led the NBA in steals in 2020.