Ben Simmons will not play in the Olympics this summer in order to focus on his NBA career, his agent said in a statement.
Simmons, who played his freshman season at LSU before declaring for the NBA Draft, is an Australian native, but he will not play in the 2016 Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“Ben Simmons will postpone playing with the Australian Olympic team this summer in order to concentrate fully on his NBA activities following the upcoming 2016 NBA draft,” Simmons’ agent Rich Paul said in a statement. “Australian Olympic Team training and competition takes place at the same time as the various NBA summer development programs, and therefore, Ben will look forward to his national team participation at some time later in his career.”
Simmons is expected to be a contender for the top overall pick. He had a very strong chance of making Australia’s Olympics team, which will likely include Andrew Bogut, Matthew Dellavedova and Patty Mills.
Simmons withdrew from LSU in March with plans to move to Phoenix to prep for the draft.
