Ben Simmons is ready for all of your “boy who cried wolf” jokes.
The LA Clippers forward Simmons made a surprising announcement over the weekend in an interview with basketball writer Grant Afseth. Simmons revealed that he plans to play for Australia in the 2028 L.A. Olympics.
“That’s what I’ve always wanted — to play in the Olympics,” Simmons, who was born in Australia and holds dual citizenship in the U.S. and Australia, stated in the interview. “If I’m healthy and I’m good to go, then I’ll definitely be there.”
Many likely would have assumed that Simmons’ national team career was long over. He has only played in a handful of games (mainly exhibitions and smaller tournaments) over the years for his native country. The rest of the time, Simmons has developed a notorious habit of committing to play for Australia in bigger tournaments such as the Olympics or the FIBA World Cup … only to end up withdrawing before the actual competition.
Simmons has committed to and withdrawn from Australia multiple times over multiple years now, and it seemed like the team was all but done with him after all of his quitting. Before the 2023 FIBA World Cup, Simmons once again announced his plans for Australia … only this time it was Australia who ended up snubbing him.
But Australia has since had a big change in their leadership with longtime national team head coach Brian Goorjian stepping down last year and new coach Adam Caporn taking over. Simmons also said in the interview with Afseth that Capron is “a great coach and a great person” and that he has known Caporn “for a while.”
The three-time NBA All-Star Simmons currently plays for the Clippers but is only on a one-year deal and will likely be facing an uncertain pro future by 2028 (when Simmons will be 32 years old). But that apparently isn’t stopping Simmons from kicking off another will-he-or-won’t-he dance with Australia ahead of the 2028 L.A. Olympics.
