Ben Simmons is a ghost. Well, not a literal one, but in the world of professional sports, he’s become a phantom of the player he once was in Philadelphia. If you look at the ben simmons basketball stats from 2018, you see a freight train. A 6'10" point guard who could grab a rebound, sprint the length of the floor in four seconds, and whip a no-look pass to the corner before the defense even realized they’d lost.
Then you look at the 2024-25 season. It’s... different. Honestly, it's a bit jarring.
Last year, split between the Brooklyn Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers, Simmons averaged just 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists. For a guy who was once a perennial All-Star and a Defensive Player of the Year runner-up, those numbers feel like a typo. But they aren't. They're the reality of a career derailed by a back that won't cooperate and a confidence level that seems to have vanished somewhere between the Wells Fargo Center and the Barclays Center.
The Philly Peak: When the Stats Were Screaming Superstar
It’s easy to forget how good the early years were. Ben didn't just play; he dominated the "glue guy" categories while scoring enough to keep you honest. In his Rookie of the Year campaign (2017-18), he averaged 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists. He was basically a walking triple-double. You’ve probably heard people compare him to Magic Johnson back then, and at the time, it didn't feel like a stretch.
He was a defensive nightmare. He could guard all five positions. He led the league in steals in 2019-20 with 2.1 per game. If you were an opposing point guard, Ben Simmons was the last person you wanted to see at half-court. His career averages still sit at roughly 13.1 points and over 7 assists per game, but that's heavily carried by those four seasons with the 76ers where he was a legitimate top-20 player in the NBA.
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The Shooting Elephant in the Room
We have to talk about the jumper. Or the lack of one.
Ben has a career three-point percentage of 13.9%. That isn't a "slump." It's a non-existent part of his game. Throughout his entire career, he has only made 5 three-pointers in regular-season play. Total. Five.
In the modern NBA, that’s almost impossible for a lead guard. It allowed teams to sag off him by ten feet, clogging the paint for teammates like Joel Embiid. The pressure eventually culminated in that infamous 2021 playoff series against Atlanta, where he passed up a wide-open dunk. That single moment changed the trajectory of his ben simmons basketball stats forever.
The Brooklyn and LA Decline
After the trade to the Nets, things got messy. Between nerve impingements in his back and "reconditioning" stints, he barely saw the floor. In the 2023-24 season, he played just 15 games. 15. You can’t build rhythm like that.
By the time he was waived by Brooklyn in February 2025 and signed a minimum deal with the Clippers, he was a different player.
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- Minutes per game: Dropped from 34.0 in Philly to 16.4 in LA.
- Scoring: Fell to a career-low 2.9 points during his stint with the Clippers.
- Free Throw Shooting: He actually improved to 85.7% on a tiny sample size in LA, which is ironic considering his career average is under 60%.
The Clippers used him as a backup center, basically. He wasn't the primary initiator anymore. He was a screen setter. A situational defender. A guy who played 8 minutes in a playoff game and finished with 2 points and 1 rebound. It’s a specialized role for a guy who used to be the main attraction.
Injuries and the "Available" Stat
They say the best ability is availability. For Ben, that’s been the biggest hurdle. His injury log since 2020 looks like a medical textbook.
- Back Surgery: Microdiscectomy in 2022.
- Nerve Issues: Multiple bouts of nerve impingement that caused leg weakness.
- Knee Soreness: Chronic swelling that sidelined him for weeks at a time.
When your back goes, your athleticism goes. And for a 6'10" guy whose game was built on being faster and stronger than other guards, losing that "pop" is a death sentence for his production. You can see it in his "Points in the Paint" numbers, which have cratered because he no longer attacks the rim with the same reckless abandon.
What's Next for Ben Simmons?
Right now, Simmons is an unrestricted free agent heading into the 2026 landscape. The $177 million contract is gone. The "franchise cornerstone" labels are gone. He’s now in the "prove-it" phase of his career.
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If you're looking at ben simmons basketball stats for your fantasy team or just to settle a debate, you have to realize we are looking at two different careers. The "Pre-2021" Ben was a superstar. The "Post-2021" Ben is a defensive specialist who might give you 5 assists on a good night but won't look at the rim.
To get a true sense of his value today, watch his defensive rotations and screen assists. The box score doesn't capture the way he still understands the game's geometry. He’s still an elite passer, but a passer who doesn't pose a scoring threat is much easier to guard.
For those tracking his comeback, keep an eye on his "Games Played" count first. Until he hits the 60-game mark in a single season, the PPG and APG won't matter much. He needs to prove his body can handle the 82-game grind again before he can even think about returning to All-Star form.
Check the injury reports for "Lower Back Injury Management" before every game; that’s the real stat that determines his impact on the court these days. The path back to 15-8-8 starts with staying on the floor for more than 20 minutes a night.
In the meantime, his story remains one of the most fascinating "what-ifs" in basketball history—a player whose physical gifts were matched only by the complexity of his mental and physical hurdles. If he can find a team that needs a high-IQ, defensive-minded big man off the bench, he might just carve out a respectable second act. But the days of "Point Ben" leading a fast break for 35 minutes a night are likely in the rearview mirror.