Ben Simmons’ NBA comeback season has been derailed after the Australian star reportedly tore his Achilles tendon in training, just days away from what loomed as his first game for the Sacramento Kings.
According to reports on Monday (AEDT), Simmons suffered the injury in practice with the Kings, who were due to open the new NBA season on Thursday against the Los Angeles Clippers, the last team he played for.
The injury is expected to rule the 30-year-old out for the entire season, ending what former teammate and NBA All-Star Dwight Howard had forecast as the “greatest comeback story in NBA history” – just as ESPN was preparing to air a documentary on his return to basketball.
Simmons sat out all of last season as he spent the year recovering physically and even turning his hand to competitive fishing, but showed signs of promise in his pre-season outings for the Kings, and shaped as a starter for them.
He had also expressed hope that a successful stint in the NBA would pave the way for him to play for the Australian Boomers at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
But those dreams will have to be put on hold, with his 538-day absence from the NBA set to continue a while longer.
The injury is a blow to not only Simmons personally, but one of the strongest Australian storylines in the NBA this season. Here’s a closer look at nine of the other players who will suit up in the league.
Josh Giddey
Age: 24. Team: Chicago Bulls. Wage: $US25m. Seasons: Six.
Giddey’s Bulls have brought in teenage rookie Caleb Wilson, who looks a future star. His high-flying ways should mesh perfectly with Giddey’s lob-passing. Watch out for some highlight-reel plays. But the Bulls are still a work in progress and play in a vastly improved Eastern Conference which should hinder their play-off hopes. Still, Giddey remains a nightly triple-double threat, and his outside shooting looks to have improved yet again. He should fit well under new coach Tiago Splitter, a former Brazilian international who played with Gregg Popovich’s San Antonio Spurs during the Tim Duncan era.
Best case: I’ve always been high on Giddey’s talents and I still think he has the capacity to have some All-Star seasons entering his prime NBA years. If he is making his shots, sticking his passes and Wilson immediately produces at a high level, things could get very exciting in the Windy City.
Worst case: If Giddey can’t make his shots and faces oppressive defences, then it could be a tough year in which his minutes and role diminish. If Wilson and other emerging Bulls develop slowly or regress, it will also have an impact on Giddey, who, as point guard, is meant to orchestrate his team’s attacks.
Dyson Daniels
Age: 23. Team: Atlanta Hawks. Wage: $US25m. Seasons: Five.
Daniels is one of the NBA’s elite defenders, and that should continue to be the case. His Hawks have made some shrewd moves this off-season and are capable of winning games in the much-improved East. Lu Dort, CJ McCollum and Aaron Wiggins should help the Hawks. Where Daniels’ season will likely be judged is by how well he shoots from three-point range and how much offence he can offer his side.
Best case: If Daniels is shining at both ends and the Hawks are soaring up the standings, he could well be a defensive player of the year contender and a potential All-Star. If Daniels can also bring his play-making and post game to the fore, then the sky is the limit for him and the Hawks.
Worst case: If Daniels can’t make his threes and struggles to create on offence, it could hurt his minutes and how much the team plays him in the clutch. Daniels has a lot of drive, so he would hate having to watch from the bench.
Jock Landale
Age: 30. Team: Atlanta Hawks. Wage: $US14.1m. Seasons: Six.
The Hawks and Landale proved a great fit when he was traded there last season. He should have a meaty role in their big-man rotation with his outside shooting and tough play inside.
Best case: Landale is a capable scorer from inside and outside. If he can crack a starting centre spot and produce regular, reliable points and rebounds then it would be a dream campaign after years of being shipped around the league.
Worst case: The Hawks bench Landale and rarely use him before trading him away or letting him go at season’s end. Landale is only on a one-year deal, so he would be back on the free-agent market heading into a World Cup.
Tyrese Proctor
Age: 22. Team: Cleveland Cavaliers. Wage: $US2.1m. Seasons: Two.
The Sydney-raised playmaker made a strong start to his NBA career last season, and his Cavs should be pressing for a deep play-off run this time around. He showed he could fill the back-up point guard role last season but faces stiff competition for minutes behind starters James Harden and Donovan Mitchell.
Best case: Proctor becomes a super reliable threat off the bench who scores and creates as the Cavs storm to the NBA title. This could happen, but Proctor will know he needs to take every chance he gets to impress.
Worst case: Proctor spends the season stuck on the bench and making occasional visits to the G-League for court time. This could happen as well, considering the Cavs are in win-now mode. But Proctor has shown he can rise to the occasion.
Johnny Furphy
Age: 21. Team: Indiana Pacers. Wage: $US2.3m. Seasons: Three.
Furphy won plenty of fans with his high-flying dunks last season, but he sadly crashed to earth late in the season when he ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament in February. Furphy is making good progress in his recovery and the Pacers hope he can return in mid-season.
Best case: Furphy comes back bigger and stronger and plays a role for the Pacers as they make a deep play-off run, with his three-pointers, defensive plays and dunks all standing out.
Worst case: Furphy’s recovery takes longer than planned and he misses the full season.
Josh Green
Age: 25. Team: Utah Jazz. Wage: $US14.1m. Seasons: Seven.
Green had a wild off-season as he was traded from Charlotte to Minnesota in July before being traded to Utah in late August. It looks a promising situation as the young Jazz roster could use his defence and three-point shooting.
Best case: Green takes a starting role with the Jazz and posts career numbers at both ends of the court as the Jazz rise into the play-offs.
Worst case: Green is traded again and lands at a club that benches him. The Sydney-raised wing deserves a chance to show what he can do in the NBA, and he deserves some stability after a couple of years of being regularly traded.
Duop Reath
Age: 30. Team: Phoenix Suns. Wage: $US2.1m. Seasons: Four.
Reath linked up with the Suns on a one-year deal and looks like he could earn some minutes as the team figures out where it sits in the Western Conference. Young Suns centre Khaman Maluach is poised for a breakout year, but the Suns could use Reath’s mix of outside shooting and active rim defence.
Best case: Reath emerges as a super reliable performer who is pressing Maluach and Oso Ighodaro for minutes at centre while posting career numbers in points, blocks and rebounds.
Worst case: Reath rarely leaves the bench as new Suns coach Jordan Ott opts for other players before letting Reath go late in the season.
Rocco Zikarsky
Age: 20. Team: Minnesota Timberwolves. Wage: $US680,985. Seasons: Two.
The 221-cm big man is still learning his craft. The Wolves’ plan when drafting him last year was that he would spend last season and this season as a two-way player, moving between the G-League and NBA teams while building his body and skills. He looks to have made some improvement and posted good G-League numbers last season.
Best case: Zikarsky bulks up, starts hitting his jump shots and is promoted to the main roster for a deep run to the title. He makes the FIBA World Cup roster and impresses for the Boomers.
Worst case: Zikarsky barely seesthe NBA court all season and doesn’t progress as fast as the team hoped.
Matisse Thybulle
Age: 29. Team: Los Angeles Lakers. Wage: $US3.3m. Seasons: Eight.
Thybulle has gone from Portland to the Lakers and will be in the spotlight as Luka Doncic and Austin Reeves look to take the Lake Show into a new era post LeBron James. Thybulle’s defence will be valuable, and much will be made about whether he is sticking his three-point shots and stopping his defender from playing help-defence on the Lakers’ stars.
Best case: Thybulle winds back the clock to his Philly days and has an All-Defensive-team calibre season while also scoring and attacking the basket.
Worst case: Thybulle’s shots miss and his confidence crumbles before injuries set in and ruin his season.
News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. Sign up for our Sport newsletter.
