Brooklyn Nets Injury Report: Ben Simmons Has Second Back Surgery in Last 2 Years

Brooklyn Nets Injury Report: Ben Simmons Has Second Back Surgery in Last 2 Years

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Brooklyn Nets point forward/guard Ben Simmons went under the knife this week to address a major back injury for the second time in the last two calendar years, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. Simmons is out for the season due to his lower back nerve impingement. The nature of the surgery, per Charania, was a “microscopic partial discectomy.”

Ben Simmons has undergone microscopic partial discectomy to alleviate the nerve impingement in his lower back, Nets say. This is his second back surgery since joining Nets in 2022. https://t.co/5FNFB3ker4

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 14, 2024

The 6’10” Louisiana State University Tigers product appeared in just 15 contests (12 starts) this season for Brooklyn. He averaged 6.1 points on 58.1% field goal shooting, along with 7.9 boards, 5.7 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.6 blocks. He showed flashes of his former Philadelphia 76ers prime self in those contests.

Simmons was initially drafted by the Sixers with the No. 1 overall pick in 2016. He missed the entire 2016-17 season with a foot injury. From 2017-21 while with the Sixers, Simmons racked up accolades. He seemed at the time to be well on the way to superstardom, despite questions about his jump shooting and occasional injury issues. Simmons was a three-time All-Star, two-time All-Defensive Teamer, one-time All-NBA Third Teamer, and the 2017-18 Rookie of the Year selection, narrowly beating out then-Utah Jazz star combo guard Donovan Mitchell.

Brooklyn Nets Injury Report: Ben Simmons Has Second Back Surgery in Last 2 Years
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – MARCH 05: Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets looks on from the bench before the game against the Philadelphia 76ers at Barclays Center on March 05, 2024 in New York…Mike Lawrie/Mike Lawrie/Getty Images

During this prime stretch, Simmons emerged as one of the league’s elite perimeter defenders, capable of essentially guarding any position on the floor, save the biggest centers. His length and size allowed him to keep up with bigs, while his speed and quick instincts made him a menace against smaller guards. He never quite developed a jumper, but was able to get to the rim enough that he averaged a solid 15.9 points on 56% shooting from the floor in this period, along with 8.1 rebounds, 7.7 assists, 1.7 steals and 0.7 blocks.

In 2021-22, Simmons held out from partaking in Philadelphia’s regular season, demanding to be traded away. Tensions had reached a boiling point that previous spring. Simmons’ terrible free throw shooting and questionable decision making appeared to cost the No. 1-seeded Sixers in a stunning Eastern Conference Semifinals playoff series against the Atlanta Hawks. All-NBA center Joel Embiid and then-head coach Doc Rivers openly questioned Simmons’ play in the aftermath of the team’s six-game series defeat.

Eventually, he did get his wish, and was flipped to the Brooklyn Nets in exchange for future Hall of Famer James Harden. But by that point, Simmons had incurred a back injury, and missed the rest of the ’21-’22 season. He eventually got surgery to address the issue. Simmons returned in 2022-23, but his shooting issues proved a massive impediment to Brooklyn’s spacing, and he was often a healthy scratch. All told last season, he appeared in 42 regular season games, averaging 6.9 points on 56.6% shooting from the field, 6.3 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 0.6 blocks a night.

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