He has 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 all unravelled for the polarising Aussie basketball star.
The decline of Simmons has been well documented.
The former No.1 draft pick has crashed from the dizzying heights of signing an eyewatering A$263.66 NBA contract and being labelled ‘a once-in-a-generation talent’ to riding the bench for the Brooklyn Nets with an uncertain future.
Simmons is back on the bench again after suffering a knee injury that put him out of commission for four matches
His latest setback is a leg injury that saw Simmons miss 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 a large chunk of his supporter base because of ongoing injuries and his contract standoff 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 realise his mental health had to become his No.1 priority.
Ben Simmons’ sister Emily on her wedding day to Michael Bush. Simmons admitted that he asked his sister one day: ‘Do you ever just wake up sad?’
‘Do you ever just wake up sad?’ he asked Emily during his lengthy layoff from basketball.
‘I was already going to therapy,’ Simmons said.
‘I got into a really dark place in my life. ‘Why do I feel like this? What’s happening to me?’ It was a build-up of everything – all that pressure, and multiple things going on with my family. I’m not sure if you’re aware of that?’
‘These things just started piling up and piling up, and basketball was supposed to be my happy place, where I’m able to be free and express myself, and suddenly I wasn’t able to do that.’
Making matters worse for Simmons was the deep fracture that appeared in his strongest support network – his family.
His older sister Olivia tweeted a series of false allegations that their half-brother Sean Tribe had molested her as a child.
Olivia Simmons was then ordered by the court to pay Tribe $550,000 in damages after it found there was insufficient evidence to suggest the claims were true.
Ben Simmons found himself shielding himself from the barbs of former teammates, his coach, NBA analysts, so-called fans and more while trying to find his strength again while battling mental illness.
‘Everyone’s been tearing me down for a year straight,’ Simmons said.
”I love when people are talking shit, wanting to see me down, because in my head I’m playing with house money. I know I’m not gonna go out there and suck. I know that’s not going to happen. I would have to 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 the right way after the [final] season [at Philadelphia], but there’s two sides.
‘Your teammates are supposed to have your back. Your coaches are supposed to have your back. And I didn’t have that at all.’
It was enough to break any person, but Simmons said it ultimately made him stronger and better equipped to handle adversary.
‘I had a terrible year,’ Simmons admitted.
‘So I know how to handle my emotions and what I need to be doing to get on track. If I’m worried or sad or frustrated or angry, I feel like I’m better able to deal with that now.
‘It took time, 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 need to do every day. Besides that, I just want to be me.’
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 fellow Australian Patty Mills after the two were united at the Nets.
‘Patty knows how I operate. We speak the same language,’ Simmons says. ‘He’s helped me build mental practices: ‘What do you do when you’re feeling great?’ or ‘When you’re not feeling 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 by myself and reset, because I needed it. But I stuck with therapy, too, because I think everyone should have that outlet.’
Simmons is expected to return for the Nets for their home clash against the Charlotte Hornets tomorrow AEDT.
The Daily Mail has contacted Simmons for comment.