Aussie NBA star Ben Simmons is preparing for a fresh start with the Sacramento Kings after spending the 2025-26 season away from the game.
In ESPN’s new E60 documentary, Being Ben, Simmons opens up about the career highs and lows that have shaped his time in the NBA, his efforts to return to the top level and his passion for fishing away from the court.
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With his NBA career getting a restart this season with the Sacramento Kings, former number one draft pick Ben Simmons opens up in a new ESPN E60 documentary about the highs and lows of his extraordinary career, his attempt to reclaim his place in the game – and his lifelong passion for fishing.
‘Being Ben’, produced in association with Andscape, will air Monday October 19 at 7.30pm AEDT on ESPN, available via Disney+, Foxtel, Kayo Sports, Fetch TV and Sky NZ.
From the basketball courts of Australia to the top of the NBA Draft, Simmons’ rise was as sudden as it was spectacular. Once an unknown young player in Melbourne, Simmons became the No. 1 overall pick and quickly emerged as one of the league’s most dynamic talents as a member of the Philadelphia 76ers – the centerpiece of a franchise with championship expectations.
But in Game Seven of the 2021 Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks, Simmons passed up an open dunk in a defining moment that became a symbol of his unravelling—and sent his career on a dramatic downward turn.
As Andscape Senior NBA Writer Marc Spears reports for E60, injuries, scrutiny, and public doubt reshaped Simmons’ career.
Now, as Simmons attempts to re-establish himself in the NBA, he has discovered another competitive outlet: fishing. As the owner of South Florida Sails, Simmons is immersed in a world that demands the same patience, preparation, and instincts that once made him a basketball star.
Spears spent time on the water with Simmons in the Florida Keys and conducted extensive interviews with him and others.
In addition to Simmons, among those interviewed in the documentary are former 76ers head coach Doc Rivers and Simmons’ Philadelphia teammate Danny Green; Trae Young, who competed against Simmons while a member of the Atlanta Hawks; former 76ers assistant coach Lloyd Pierce; Simmons’ godfather and former coach David Patrick; Scott Perry, general manager of the Kings; and Adam Caporn, head coach of the Australian men’s national basketball team.
Keith Pompey, a longtime 76ers beat writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer who covered Simmons’ time with the team, also is interviewed in the documentary as is longtime New York Post sportswriter Brian Lewis.
Being Ben was produced and directed by Julian Gooden.
