Ben Simmons wasn’t fully healthy for Nets training camp last year

The Nets have witnessed something new this training camp: a healthy Ben Simmons.

However, it wasn’t initially known that it was new until the point guard said Friday that he didn’t feel “100 percent” arriving at training camp a year ago.

The Nets star was thought to be healthy before suffering a back injury after playing the first five games of the season.

That continued to be a problem, along with knee issues, and Simmons missed 67 of the Nets’ 82 games.

From reporters after practice, it appears Simmons started the season with another herniated disc, and the repeated injury issues of the 2023 season could have been avoided.

“I feel physically ready to play at a high level,” Simmons said of feeling different heading into training camp ahead of the 2024-25 season. “Last year I got to the point where I was good enough to get on the field, but I wasn’t 100 percent, which was the situation – it was – but at the end of account, I am here now, and this is the situation I feel good and I put a lot of time and work into it.

“I was playing with another herniated disc, so that was probably a big reason,” he added of his changed rehab process compared to last year. “This is my second surgery in a few years. Same situation, different area in the back, but I’m cleared now and feeling good and ready to go.

Simmons didn’t admit to feeling any pressure to play this year, but there seemed to be a rushed process last year to help out on the field.

“I want to compete and help my teammates win. In positions like that, obviously you want to do what you can and get what you get, and that’s what I did last year,” he said. “Whether I was healthy or not, I tried to do what I could for the team while I had the opportunity to play.”

A former rookie of the year, Simmons was playing on a five-year, $177 million contract signed in 2020 with the 76ers when he was acquired by the Nets – along with Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks – in exchange. for James Harden and Paul Millsap in February 2022.

He was counted on to be part of a Big Three alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving to win a championship.

However, his injuries took precedence over the narrative of his costly Nets career.

Simmons has missed 189 of 246 games over the past three seasons due to nerve impingements in his back that led to two microscopic partial discectomies, the last one last March.

In the 57 games he has played out of the Nets’ 191 games since he was added to the roster, Simmons will have received $86. 3 million with an average of only 6.7 points.

Now healthy and with a lot of money spent, the Nets hope to finally raise his vintage three-time All-Star from his days in Philadelphia which saw him average 15.9 points, 7.7 assists and 8.1 rebounds .

“I feel amazing,” Simmons said. “Physically, I feel good. I’m ready to go.

Entering a new scene without Durant and Irving or Mikal Bridges – the best player in the deal that sent Durant to Phoenix that was dealt this summer to the Knicks – Simmons will be given, alongside Nic Claxton, a heavy load to a team in a rebuilding year.

Over the past two seasons, the Nets have gone 31-26 with Simmons on the court and 46-61 without him.

Staying healthy will be paramount for Simmons to a positive Nets season and his future, as he will earn $40.3 million in the final year of his contract before hitting unrestricted free agency on next summer.

“You can’t do things on the basketball court if your body isn’t ready, you know? It’s pretty simple,” Simmons said. “You’re not going to go down a hill, jump into a 7-foot guy; it just doesn’t make sense. But I feel good now. I’m learning to trust my body more and more with the reps I get. So, that’s good.