"That's bulls**t": Simmons hits back at doubters

Ben Simmons has heard the claims he no longer loves basketball, and he has a blunt message for the doubters: "That's bulls**t."

As the Australian star prepares for his NBA return with the Sacramento Kings after nearly a year and a half away, he says he has one goal: to "dominate".

Speaking to media in Sacramento, the former No.1 overall pick hit back at the narrative that has followed him through several injury-interrupted seasons.

"All these people talk about, 'I don't love the game.' That's bulls**t. I love this game," Simmons said.

"If I didn't, I wouldn't have taken that year to focus on myself and get back to where I'm at."

Simmons sat out the entire 2025-26 season to rehabilitate the back and leg injuries that had hampered him in recent years.

Now, he says, he's feeling "great".

"I didn't touch a ball for the whole year. I didn't watch basketball. I just focused on getting my body right and my mind right," he said.

"And I knew at the time, when I was ready to go, it would click, and that's what happened.

"Given that I took a year off, I didn't know if I was going to have opportunity to get back in the league. But that was a chance I took and I bet on myself and I'm here today.

"I feel great and I'm ready to go. No limitations."

Asked whether it felt like a weight had been lifted joining a team considered rank outsiders for the championship, Simmons conceded the spotlight never really goes away.

"There isn't [pressure], and then there always is. And that's what comes with being Ben Simmons," he said.

Simmons, who last played for the Los Angeles Clippers in April 2025, gave an early glimpse of his progress at a players-only Boomers mini-camp in Melbourne in August, training alongside the likes of Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels and Jock Landale.

The camp also confirmed his desire to represent Australia at senior level for the first time, with the Boomers chasing a podium finish at next year's FIBA World Cup in Qatar and the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.