Ben Simmons did not land an NBA job for this season, but that has given him extra time to focus on his interest in professional fishing.
Simmons is now the controlling operator of the South Florida Sails of the Sport Fishing Championship. The league was founded in 2021, and features other celebrity owners such as Randy Moss and Scottie Scheffler.
While Simmons has not given up on his NBA career, he is clearly passionate about his new side gig.
“It’s a very niche sport. And if you don’t know, you don’t know,” Simmons told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “But once you experience it and get out there and see what it’s about, you’re kind of in awe of what the sport is. And that’s just something I’ve always been interested in in terms of the sport of fishing. The technique. And there’s so much to it that people just don’t understand. These guys are fishing on million-dollar vessels, and they’re out for days at a time. So, it’s tedious and gritty, but a lot of fun. It’s one of those worlds where you just got to kind of experience it, get into it and see what it’s about.”
Simmons said he is still hopeful of landing on an NBA roster somewhere around the All-Star break, but emphasized that he would want to pick the right team to land on.
For now, Simmons appears to be content with his fishing ventures. The 30-year-old is not on a team this year, though it is not clear if that was by choice or simply because nothing came his way. He does maintain, however, that he would still like to return to the NBA.
Simmons split last season between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers. He averaged just 5.0 points, 5.6 assists, and 4.7 rebounds in 22 minutes per game.
