Those who are following the Brooklyn Nets performance, who are not having a great season this time, know that their forward Ben Simmons underwent surgery to repair a pinched nerve back in March 2024.
According to the 28-year-old, during that time he passed one of the hardest times of his life and even seriously considered retiring from basketball while recovering from back surgery.
In a recent talk on the “Young Man and the Three” podcast, Ben Simmons opened up about how his injuries affected him both physically and mentally. He surprised everyone in the podcast by admitting he thought about retiring last summer.
Simmons said, “There were times last summer when I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can do this. I might have to stop playing. I had to bring that up in conversation and think about it, just because physically it’s tough, but mentally it’s just so hard to return from an injury like that.”
"There were times last summer where I was like, 'I don't know if I can do this, I might have to stop playing'"– Ben Simmons opening up about his experience with his injuries and surgeries the past few years… pic.twitter.com/JeUWEmq6K7
— TheYoungManAndTheThree (@OldManAndThree) January 24, 2025
He added, “Go through the process of rehabbing a second summer in a row. But like I said, it’s day by day. You just take it day by day.” However, he has recovered, and even with the challenges, Ben Simmons made it clear that giving up isn’t an option.
He said, “I can’t just stop. Like, I’m not just going to stop. I want to compete; I’m a competitor. I like to play basketball; I like to win. And that was my time to win. I had so many losses in the last two and a half years; I was like, No, I need this one.”
Ben Simmons compares his two surgeries
In the podcast podcast, Ben Simmons talked about his latest back surgery and compared it to another surgery he had in May 2022. He shared how both surgeries affected his return to basketball.
Simmons had his first surgery in May 2022 to fix a herniated disc. While it helped ease some pain, the second surgery in March last year made a much bigger difference.
Comparing them, Simmons said, “The second surgery was a lot different. It made me feel like I had a new body.”
