The Sacramento Kings are rolling the dice on Ben Simmons, and the price tag makes the move easier to stomach. He’s in on a veteran minimum contract, which keeps the risk low and the upside obvious: if Simmons is healthy, the Kings are getting a former three-time All-Star with the kind of size and playmaking that once made him one of the league’s most intriguing young stars.
That health piece is the whole story, though. Simmons’ NBA career has been shaped as much by injuries and absences as by the talent that made him the No. 1 pick.
Before he ever played a regular-season game, he was already behind the curve after fracturing his right foot in training camp before his rookie year. That injury delayed him by at least 4-5 months, and when it still hadn’t healed properly, he was shut down for the entire 2016-17 season.
Once he finally got on the floor, Simmons looked like a different player. He won Rookie of the Year in 2017-18 and appeared in 81 of 82 games for the Philadelphia 76ers.
The next season, he stayed on the court again, making his first All-Star team while playing 79 of 82 games. By then, the injury concerns had faded and the 6-foot-10 point guard was being discussed in the same breath as LeBron James and Magic Johnson.
The wheels started to wobble in his third full season. Simmons dealt with lower-back problems, including a nerve impingement in February that likely would have ended his year.
Instead, he came back when the NBA resumed in the “bubble” in August after the COVID-19 pause. That return didn’t last long.
Three games into the “bubble,” he hurt his knee and missed the rest of the regular season plus the 76ers’ entire 2020 playoff run.
From there, the availability issues piled up. By the 2020 offseason, Simmons was dealing with both back and knee concerns, and he played only 57 games in the shortened 73-game 2019-20 season and 58 games in the shortened 72-game 2020-21 season.
Then came the moment that changed everything. In Game 7 of the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks, Simmons passed up an open layup, and the backlash from fans and the media was immediate and brutal.
He never suited up for Philadelphia again. Even though he had four years left on his contract, Simmons sat out the entire 2021-22 season while pushing for a trade.
Injury and mental health concerns were part of the picture, but the break with the 76ers was the main issue. It was the defining turn in his career, and the version of Simmons that came before it never really came back.
Brooklyn got him in a February 2022 trade, but the injury problems followed. After 42 games in his first season with the Nets, he was diagnosed with a herniated disc in his back and missed the rest of the year.
In 2022-23, knee soreness kept limiting him. Then, early in the 2023 offseason, he had back surgery.
The next season brought even less. Simmons played only 15 games in 2023-24 before being shut down with a nerve impingement in his lower back.
The Nets era ended with knee and back issues dominating the picture, and he was eventually bought out during the 2024-25 season before signing with the L.A. Clippers as a free agent.
Now, after taking the 2025-26 season off, Simmons is reportedly as healthy as he has been in years. He’s said to be in a better place mentally and physically, which is exactly what Sacramento is betting on. The Kings are clearly hoping they’re getting the best version of Simmons since injuries began to take over his career.
There will always be questions about his back and knee, but on a veteran minimum deal, the Kings can live with the uncertainty. If Simmons stays healthy and confident, this could be a smart swing.
In Other News...
Kings Face A Costly Jalen Duren Debate They Cant Ignore
Jalen Durens extension talks in Detroit have turned into one of those situations every front office watches closely, even from a distance. The Pistons and the young center are still working through salary and respect issues, and until a deal is signed, the clock keeps ticking toward a possible 2027 unrestricted free agency that could put one of the leagues more intriguing big men on the open market.
For Sacramento, the interest is easy to understand. Duren would fit the kind of frontcourt upgrade the Kings would at least have to consider, but a serious pursuit would come with real financial consequences and roster-building tradeoffs. In other words, this is the kind of name that can brighten a wishlist and complicate a spreadsheet at the same time, which is exactly why it is worth monitoring now rather than waiting for the market to get there. [Read more 🡒]
Ben Simmons Suddenly Has Real Rotation Pressure In Sacramento
The Kings head into 2026-27 with a roster that looks full before the season even starts, and that is where the pressure begins to creep in. With 14 players on standard contracts, Sacramento does not have much room for idle spots in the rotation, which puts names like Daeqwon Plowden, Emanuel Sharp and Ben Simmons squarely in the mix for minutes that may not be easy to find.
Plowden and Sharp already look like the kinds of players who could be squeezed by the numbers, but Simmons brings a different kind of intrigue because his role is tied to how his comeback actually looks on the floor. For a team trying to sort out its priorities early, that makes his spot one of the more interesting lineup questions hanging over the Kings right now. [Read more 🡒]
Kings Fans Have A New Reason For Hope At Point Guard
Sacramento has spent plenty of time searching for stability at point guard, so it is no surprise a rookie like Darius Acuff Jr. has already drawn attention. The former Arkansas freshman came in with a strong rsum after leading the SEC in both points and assists, and that kind of production has fueled real optimism around his fit with the Kings.
Acuff showed flashes of why people are excited during summer league, especially as a creator who can set the table and score in bunches. The next step, though, is the hard one for any young guard: handling NBA-level defense while tightening up his shooting efficiency, and if he gets there, the early comparisons to former Kings guard De'Aaron Fox will only get louder. [Read more 🡒]