It had been nearly 90 days since Ben Simmons played an NBA game, but he impressed in his return for the Brooklyn Nets, flirting with a triple-double as he helped his team to a 33-point win over the Utah Jazz.
Coming off the bench in his first game back, Simmons made an immediate impact as he dished out six assists in just five minutes, spurring the Nets to a 20-6 run.
Despite playing only 18 minutes total, Simmons was huge for Brooklyn, finishing with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting, with 11 assists, eight rebounds, as well as a steal and block — made even more impressive considering it was his first game back after dealing with a back injury, which saw him miss 38 games.
Postgame, the Australian was quick to credit his teammates and said that the Nets' defensive effort was what allowed both he and the team to flourish.
"It's just a blessing to be back on the floor and play with my guys, and I'm glad we could get the win," Simmons said.
"I play with my heart and how I know how to play the game, so for me, I just want to find my guys and play the right way.
"I think if we just focus on defense, offense is going to come. We have a lot of talented guys on this roster, I'm trying to make it easy for everybody."
Nets coach praises Ben Simmons' performance in return
For the Nets, the return of Simmons is greatly needed; the team has faltered in recent weeks, winning only three of their last 15 games before the matchup with Utah.
According to Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn, the addition of one of their premier players in Simmons was a breath of fresh air and helps them return to the style of play they have been seeking.
"You see how other people played so well tonight because of the impact of Ben Simmons, it's that simple," Vaughn said.
"The looks that we got tonight, the amount of threes that we got tonight, the fast-break points that we got tonight, the uncontested looks that we got tonight, the pace that we play with.
"Utah has been rolling, 120 points in the last eleven games and so we did it on both ends of the floor, and Ben deserves an extreme amount of credit for the way he played tonight.
"Once he told me he was ready to go, my expectation was to see the basketball player that impacted our first seven games of the year.
"I had no qualms that he was going to be able to push the pace for us and get back to the high energy, high octane pace that he's played with, with this group.
"Like he makes other dudes better and he likes doing that. And when you get a guy that wants to do that on a nightly basis, it's infectious. And so just the ball movement tonight, he was the reason for that. And the way it was sprayed around 40-some assists tonight, you can't ask for anything more, especially with the time that he's missed."
Ben Simmons stats vs Utah Jazz
- 10 points
- 11 assists
- 8 rebounds
- 1 steal
- 1 block
- 5-of-5 (100%) field goals
- Plus/minus: +27
Ben Simmons contract
Simmons still has one year left on his contract after this season with the Nets, before he becomes an unrestricted free agent.
The Aussie signed a five-year, $170 million contract extension with the Sixers in 2019. That deal runs through the 2024-25 season, and there are no options in the final year.
| Season | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 |
| Simmons' salary | $37.9 million | $40.3 million | UFA |