Draymond Green is happy to see Ben Simmons get another opportunity in the NBA after the former All-Star agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Sacramento Kings.
Speaking on The Draymond Green Show, the Golden State Warriors forward said Simmons’ reaction to finally feeling healthy stood out to him after the 30-year-old spent the 2025-26 season away from the league.
“The injuries aren’t always nice and to see him get another opportunity, to see him excited. I actually had a conversation with Ben Simmons to see him excited to play basketball,” Green said. “The first thing he say is, ‘Man, I’m healthy. I’m healthy.’ Like it feels so good to be healthy.”
Green also praised Simmons for continuing to pursue an NBA comeback despite the setbacks he has faced in recent seasons.
“And that’s incredible to put the work in when everybody counted you out when you don’t need the money. You know, just doing fine in his life and when everybody counted you out to go back to the drawing board and get healthy, get back to being a good NBA player,” Green said.
Simmons missed the entire 2025-26 season after last playing for the Los Angeles Clippers in 2024-25. He has now agreed to join Sacramento for his 10th NBA season after a Kings evaluation that included medical examinations, an on-court workout and meetings with head coach Doug Christie and members of the coaching staff.
The former No. 1 overall pick also worked out for general manager Scott Perry in late August. Simmons reportedly looked and felt strong during the evaluation process and an Australian players-only minicamp in August.
Simmons enters Sacramento with a résumé that includes three All-Star selections, an All-NBA Third Team honor and two All-Defensive First Team selections. His best statistical season came in 2019-20, when he averaged 16.4 points, 8.0 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 57 games for Philadelphia.
He followed that with another All-Star season in 2020-21, averaging 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 1.6 steals in 58 games while finishing second in Defensive Player of the Year voting.
Simmons has appeared in 383 NBA games, averaging 13.1 points, 7.4 rebounds and 7.2 assists while shooting 55.8% from the field. In his most recent season, he averaged 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists in 51 games between Brooklyn and the Clippers.
Sacramento went 22-60 last season and tied for the worst record in the Western Conference. The Kings subsequently reshaped their roster, selecting Darius Acuff Jr. No. 7 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft and adding Alex Karaban and Emanuel Sharp.
Simmons now joins a roster featuring Zach LaVine, Domantas Sabonis, Keegan Murray, Maxime Raynaud and Malik Monk.
