Ben Simmons ‘probably not’ returning this season, Nets head coach says

Brooklyn Nets head coach Jacque Vaughn said Ben Simmons likely will not return this season.

The team said Friday it discovered a nerve impingement in his back that has been bothering him since last year, which would force him to miss indefinite time.

Simmons has been out since Feb. 15. Even before then, he was in and out of the lineup, playing in 42 games.

Simmons missed the entire 2021-2022 season for what he said were mental health issues, and he’s missed a significant amount of games due to injury since joining Brooklyn. 

When he’s been on the court, he has been a shell of himself. With the Philadelphia 76ers, he averaged 15.9 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists. Since joining Brooklyn, those numbers are down to 6.9, 6.3 and 6.1.

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Simmons has dealt with back issues since last year, but he has remained out of the lineup since the All-Star break because of a knee injury.

Simmons joined Brooklyn as the main piece of a blockbuster deal that sent James Harden to Philly, which marked the beginning of the end of the Kevin Durant-Kyrie Irving era in Brooklyn.

The three-time All-Star was the first overall pick of the 2016 NBA Draft.