Ben Simmons Signs with Sacramento Kings for Comeback
Ben Simmons is back in the NBA. And he’s chosen Sacramento as the stage for his next act.
The former No. 1 overall pick has agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Sacramento Kings, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Marc Spears, ending a full season out of the league and opening the door to one of the most intriguing comeback attempts in recent memory.
A Careful Courtship in Sacramento
This wasn’t a casual flyer. The Kings put Simmons through a full inspection.
Charania reported that Simmons traveled to Sacramento on Monday for in-depth medical testing, an on-court workout, and meetings with head coach Doug Christie and team staff. In late August, he’d already worked out for general manager Scott Perry and sat down with him for an hour, a sign the organization wanted more than just a medical green light. They wanted to look him in the eye and hear how badly he wanted this.
For a player who hasn’t appeared in an NBA game since the 2024-25 season, that mattered.
From Rising Star to Question Mark
Simmons’ story has never been short on drama.
He entered the league in 2016 as the top pick and quickly looked like a franchise cornerstone with the Philadelphia 76ers. Size, vision, defense, versatility—he had it all, and for a time it looked like the Sixers had their long-term engine.
Then the body started to betray him.
Since the 2020-21 season, Simmons has played 60 or fewer games every year. He missed the entire 2021-22 campaign. He finally got back on the floor in 2024-25, splitting time between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers and appearing in 51 games—his highest total since that 2020-21 season.
The production was modest: 5.0 points, 5.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game. The All-Star version of Simmons, the one who dominated games without needing to score 25 a night, felt distant. But the outlines of his game were still there: the passing instincts, the rebounding, the ability to guard multiple positions.
Then came another full stop. Simmons did not sign with any team for the 2025-26 season.
“Bulletproof” or Nothing
The hiatus wasn’t accidental.
In December, he told The Athletic’s Sam Jane that he wouldn’t return until he felt “bulletproof.” It was a telling word choice for a player whose career had been defined as much by physical setbacks and scrutiny as by his early promise.
By June, he was ready to talk about a comeback. He told Clay Skipper of Men’s Health that he was officially working toward an NBA return and openly floated Miami and Philadelphia as possible destinations.
“I plan on getting as strong as I can physically, getting my ass on the court, and then the team realizing that my abilities will be needed,” Simmons said. “I don’t have a plan on where. ... Maybe I’ll go back to Philly. Miami would be nice. And not because it’s Miami—I like Erik Spoelstra, I like the Heat, I like their organization, I like the culture.”
Instead, it’s Sacramento that has given him the opportunity.
What the Kings Are Really Buying
This is not the Simmons who once made All-Star teams and anchored elite defenses in Philadelphia. The Kings know that. They’re not paying him like that, and they’re not asking him to be that.
What they are buying is fit, flexibility, and a hint of upside.
Sacramento has been scrambling for stability at point guard since trading De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs. Rookie Darius Acuff Jr. arrives with promise, but throwing a first-year guard into the fire without a safety net is a dangerous way to run a playoff-chasing team.
Simmons helps plug that gap.
He still sees the floor as well as almost anyone his size. He can initiate offense, find shooters, and keep the ball moving without needing a heavy diet of shots. On defense, his size and switchability give Christie a different look, someone who can guard up and down the lineup and help cover for smaller guards.
He won’t be asked to carry an offense or rescue a season. He’ll be asked to organize, to defend, to connect lineups. On a one-year, $3.5 million deal, that’s exactly the kind of low-risk, potentially high-reward swing smart teams take.
A Franchise and a Career at a Crossroads
Will Simmons move the Kings into the contender tier? That’s a stretch for now. Sacramento’s ceiling still depends more on its established core and how quickly Acuff grows into his role than on a reclamation project at point-forward.
But the Kings’ roster looks more complete today than it did yesterday. They finally have another ball-handler who can steady possessions and dictate tempo. They have a veteran presence who has seen both the heights and the harshest scrutiny the league can offer.
For Simmons, this is something else entirely.
It’s a chance to prove that “bulletproof” isn’t just a soundbite, that his body can withstand the grind and his game can still bend a contest in his team’s favor. For the Kings, it’s a bet that a once-elite talent can still tilt a few nights their way.
Sacramento has given him the door. The question now is whether Ben Simmons can walk through it and stay there.
