After 15 long months, there are only a few hours left to see Ben Simmons on a basketball court and, therefore, to play his first minutes with the Brooklyn Nets jersey. The All-Star is completely healed physically and mentally and will be in the New Yorkers’ first preseason game when he returns to action; a meeting that comes with even greater interest, since the rival will be his former team, the Philadelphia 76ers.
Simmons is about to come full circle. It’s been a long time since that playoff draw against Atlanta where everything exploded. Criticisms and doubts about his game, and not coming from the public, but from teammates and coaches, pushed him to say ‘enough’. He asked to leave the team while he worked on a psychological level to overcome problems that prevented him from performing at his best on the court.
Unwavering in his determination to leave the 76ers, he finally made his wish come true when he left for Brooklyn. There he began to breathe differently. It was rumored that in a few weeks he would be ready to debut, but a herniated disc prevented him to the point of requiring new back surgery. Now it’s all behind. Now he is convinced that a successful new start is possible.
“I can’t wait, I’m so excited… I have a new number, a new jersey. I can’t wait for the time to play. I think we have a special team. I believe that if we put everything we have together, we will be champions. This is the ultimate goal, ”she comments in the face of the approaching campaign.
You may not be wrong. We are talking about some Nets that have Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving and himself, as well as a large group of high-level secondaries (Seth Curry, Patty Mills or Nicolas Claxton are examples). There are wicks for thinking that this time could be your year, even if past experiences invite you to be cautious.
In any case, a very special evening is approaching for Simmons. In his new home (Brooklyn’s Barclays Center) he will open a new path in which he will definitely break with the past, looking him straight in the eye. He will lift the ball and run on the break with Joel Embiid and company in front of him, or what amounts to the same thing, those same players with whom he seemed destined to make history in Pennsylvania. Simmons will have before him what he could have been, but not to dwell, but to show that he is ready to prove that he is still the player that he has dazzled since his arrival in the NBA. The spotlight will be on him. We will be vigilant.
(Photo by Elsa / Getty Images)
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