Benjamin David “Ben” Simmons is an Australian professional basketball player of African-American descent. He attended Whitefriars College and Box Hill Senior Secondary College, which are both in Melbourne, Australia, Montverde Academy in Montverde, Florida, United States and Louisiana State University in  in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA.

Ben Simmons

Simmons was born in Melbourne to his African-American father David “Dave” Simmons and his Australian mother Julie Simmons. After playing college basketball for Oklahoma City University in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA, Dave played basketball professionally in 1989 with the Melbourne Tigers in the National Basketball League in Australia.

Ben, who stands 6’10”, made his National Basketball Association debut in 2013. Here are 13 more things about him:

1. In 2003, he started playing basketball in the under-12 representative team of the Newcastle Hunters in Newcastle, Australia where he also played junior rugby league.
2. In 2006, he started playing junior basketball for the Knox Raiders and Australian rules football at the junior level.
3. In 2011, he played basketball for Box Hill Senior Secondary College at the Australian Schools Championships.
4. In 2012, he took up a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport, represented Australia at the FIBA Under-17 World Championship and made his first appearance in the U.S. at the Pangos All-American Camp for basketball prospect.
5. In 2013, he made his senior debut for Australia in the FIBA Oceania Championship against New Zealand, moved from Australia to the U.S. and attended Montverde Academy, which he helped beat St. Benedict of New Jersey in the final of the High School National Tournament. In the same year, he competed in the Jordan Brand Classic International Game, returned to Melbourne where he played six games for the Bulleen Boomers of the Big V competition and committed to Louisiana State University.
6. On November 12, 2014, he signed a national letter of intent to play college basketball for Louisiana State University.  He played for the university from 2015 to 2016.
7. On June 7, 2016, he signed an endorsement deal with Nike. On June 23, 2016, he was selected by the Philadelphia 76ers with the number one overall pick in the NBA draft. After signing his rookie scale contract on July 3, 2016, he joined the team for the 2016 NBA Summer League. He suffered a fracture of the fifth metatarsal bone of his right foot after rolling his right ankle during the team’s final training camp scrimmage on September 30, 2016.
8. On February 24, 2017, he was ruled out for the entire 2016-2017 NBA season because tests determined that his broken right foot had not fully healed. During his offseason, he worked on improving his shooting game by hiring his brother Liam Tribe-Simmons, who had to resign from his position as assistant coach at the University of California, Riverside in Riverside, California.
9. From 2018 to 2019, he dated Kendall Jenner. When he made his NBA debut with 18 points and 10 rebounds playing for the Philadelphia 76ers on October 18, 2018, is team lost to the Washington Wizards 120-115. In 2019, he confirmed that he would represent Australia in the 2019 FIBA World Cup and in several exhibition games against Canada and the U.S. but two months later, he announced that he would not play for the Australian national team that year due to professional obligations.
10. On October 3, 2020, he announced his endorsement for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
11. On May 5, 2022, he had a surgery at Cedars Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles, California due to a herniated L-4 disc.
12. On July 20, 2023, he turned 27.
13. On March 14, 2024, he underwent a microscopic partial discectomy at Jackson Memorial Medical Center in Miami, Florida, USA.