Ben Simmons Considering NBA Retirement Amid Knicks Rumors

Ben Simmons is “questioning” whether he wants to continue his NBA career ahead of the 2025-26 season as he continues to explore free agency, according to Stefan Bondy of the New York Post.

Knicks Remain Interested In Ben Simmons

NBA insider Marc Stein noted in July that Simmons had drawn interest from three teams.

“League sources say that the Suns have also had some recent dialogue with former All-Star Ben Simmons, who I’m told has drawn interest since free agency began from Boston, New York, and Sacramento,” Stein wrote.

However, at this late stage of the offseason, Bondy reported Wednesday that Simmons has received interest from only the Knicks and one other team on the open market.

SNY’s Ian Begley also reported last month that New York had “continued to show strong interest in signing Simmons as teams in on Simmons await his decision.”

Simmons appeared in 33 games (24 starts) with the Brooklyn Nets last season before his contract was bought out. The LSU product then signed with the Los Angeles Clippers and played in 18 games off the bench.

In 51 games split between the Nets and Clippers, he averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 22 minutes per contest while shooting 52% from the field and 72.7% from the foul line.

Simmons Has Not Been The Same Player Since Leaving 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers selected Simmons No. 1 overall in the 2016 draft, and he went on to receive three All-Star selections, two All-Defensive nods, and one All-NBA Third-Team honor with the franchise.

Simmons, however, missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a contract holdout as well as a back injury that eventually required surgery. The Sixers later traded him to Brooklyn in Sept. 2022.

According to Basketball Reference, Simmons appeared in just 57 total games across his first two years with the Nets. He also underwent a second procedure on his back near the end of the 2023-24 season.

In 383 career NBA regular-season games (344 starts), Simmons has career averages of 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.7 blocks with the Sixers, Nets, and Clippers.

Unless he decides to call it a career, Simmons is expected to sign a minimum deal with the Knicks.

New York lost to the Indiana Pacers in the 2025 Eastern Conference finals in six games. After failing to reach the NBA Finals, head coach Tom Thibodeau was fired and replaced by Mike Brown.

The Knicks will open training camp on Wednesday, Sept. 24.