Ben Simmons made a rare media appearance when Thursday's episode of The Old Man and The Three, a podcast by former NBA sharpshooter JJ Redick and co-host Tommy Alter, featured the Nets' 26-year-old point guard/power forward.
In a wide-ranging interview that spanned more than an hour, Simmons opened up on his "frustrating" back injury, why he believes the Nets are "going to be the champions," and how he has evolved his game.
Simmons, who did not play for the Nets last season after the Feb. 10 trade with the Philadelphia 76ers sent James Harden to Philly, originally eyed his debut for Game 4 of the first round of the playoffs against the Boston Celtics before Brooklyn said he suffered a setback.
"Terrible," Simmons said about the challenge of not being able to describe an injury. "Thing is, you have a lot of guys in the NBA that might be like, 'Oh, I'm sore today. I'm hurt. I can't play.' And the situation I'm in is not a normal situation, so it's hard for me to be like, 'I actually can't play.'
"But me, knowing me, I'm like, 'Let me just try and prove them wrong. Let me try and get on the court,' because everyone's saying, like, 'You need to play otherwise. It's going to be bad for you.' I'm like, 'All right.' So when it got to that point, when I'm in practice, like, I know I'm not feeling right. I can't, my muscles -- my glutes' not working. I can't jump, I can't dunk. And people don't see that stuff.
"But that was the reality of it. And me, I'm about to play, I'm about to go into Game 4 -- I tried to go into Game 4. I'm on the ground, I can't even move. So it's a real thing. And for me, it was frustrating because you have everyone saying whatever. But I try to block that out. If I'm hurt, I'm hurt. I'm not trying to sit out."
As the Nets return to the hardwood in 2022-23 with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving chief among the key pieces, though, Simmons embraces the reset.
"It's going to be sick," Simmons said. "I can't wait. I'm just so excited. Changed my number -- got a new number, new jersey. I'm just looking forward to it. I think we have a special team. I think if we get it all together, we're going to be the champions. So that's the end goal.
"But yeah, I'm excited. It's New York City. I'm playing with some unbelievable players, and a great coaching staff."
A three-time All-Star, Simmons has not played since the 2020-21 season, when he averaged 14.3 points on 55.7 percent shooting to go with 7.2 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 58 regular season games. But Simmons says he has developed parts of his all-around ability.
"I think just the way at my pace, controlling the game and just using my size to get where I want," Simmons said. "I think, like over time -- even if you look at LeBron (James), he's not as athletic or anything like that. But his IQ and just the way he -- he wants to get to a spot, he's going to get to his spot.
"It's just certain things and learning over time. Just taking out the extra unnecessary movements, I think, is huge."