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He’s been branded a coward, the most selfish player in the league and a villain in the NBA, but now a candid Ben Simmons has revealed where it’s all unraveled for the polarizing Australian basketball star.
Simmons’ demise is well documented.
The former No. 1 draft pick has crashed from the dizzying heights of signing a breathtaking A$263.66 NBA contract and labeled “a talent that’s only once in a generation” to the bench for the Brooklyn Nets with an uncertain future.
Simmons is back on the bench after a knee injury that left him out for four games
His latest setback is a leg injury that left Simmons missing out on the Nets’ big win over the Washington Wizards today after having an MRI on his left knee.
Simmons has been dumped by former club Philadelphia, sponsors, a Kardashian and much of his supporter base due to lingering injuries and his contractual stalemate with the 76ers.
However, in a candid interview with the Sydney Morning Herald, Simmons recalls the question he asked his sister Emily that made him realize that his mental health had to become his number 1 priority.
Ben Simmons’ sister Emily on her wedding day to Michael Bush. Simmons admitted that one day he asked his sister, “Do you ever wake up sad?”
“Do you ever wake up sad?” he asked Emily during his long layoff from basketball.
“I already went to therapy,” Simmons said.
“I entered a very dark place in my life. ‘Why do I feel this way? What’s happening to me?’ It was an accumulation of everything – all that pressure and multiple things going on with my family. I’m not sure you know that?’
“These things piled up and piled up, and basketball had to be my happy place, where I can be free and express myself, and suddenly I was unable to do that.”
What made things worse for Simmons was the deep rift that appeared in his strongest support network – his family.
His older sister Olivia tweeted a series of false accusations that their half-brother Sean Tribe had harassed her as a child.
Olivia Simmons was subsequently ordered by the court to pay Tribe $550,000 in damages after it determined there was insufficient evidence to suggest the allegations were true.
Ben Simmons found himself shielding himself from the barbs of former teammates, his coach, NBA analysts, would-be fans and more as he tried to regain his strength while struggling with mental illness.
“Everyone’s been killing me for a year in a row,” Simmons said.
“I love it when people talk shit, want to see me down, because in my head I’m playing with house money. I know I don’t go out to suck. I know that’s not going to happen. I should be a different person.
A close-up shot of Ben Simmons #25 of the Philadelphia 76ers during the game against the Boston Celtics during the 2016 Utah Summer League
“I definitely didn’t handle it well after the… [final] season [at Philadelphia]but there are two sides.
Your teammates should be behind you. Your coaches are supposed to be behind you. And I didn’t have that at all.’
It was enough to break someone, but Simmons said it ultimately made him stronger and better equipped to deal with opponents.
“I’ve had a terrible year,” Simmons admitted.
“So I know how to deal with my emotions and what to do to get on the right track. When I’m worried or sad or frustrated or angry, I feel like I can deal with it better now.
“It took a while, but I’m at peace with who I am and what’s going on around me. I know what my priorities are and what I have to do every day. Besides that, I just want to be myself.’
Simmons #10 of the Brooklyn Nets is introduced before the game against the Indiana Pacers on October 29, 2022 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York
Simmons also spoke about his friendship with compatriot Patty Mills after the two reunited at the Nets.
“Patty knows how I work. We speak the same language,” Simmons says. “He helped me build mental exercises: ‘What do you do when you feel good?’ or “If you don’t feel great, what actions do you take?” Simmons explained.
“I had isolated myself for a year. I wasn’t on social media. I wanted to have peace and be alone and reset, because I needed it. But I also stayed with therapy, because I think everyone should have that outlet.’
Simmons is expected to return for the Nets for their home game against the Charlotte Hornets tomorrow AEDT.
The Daily Mail has contacted Simmons for comment.