Ben Simmons Will Not Play at the World Cup this Summer
Adrian Wojnarowski reported a while back that Ben Simmons was “doubtful” to appear at this summer’s FIBA World Cup in China, and Tuesday Simmons confirmed that on Twitter.
Here’s his note to fans:
😤🇦🇺 pic.twitter.com/CEmulzcqcR
— Ben Simmons (@BenSimmons25) July 16, 2019
For context here, the World Cup runs from Saturday, August 31st to Sunday, September 15th, which gives us about a one week buffer before the start of most NBA training camps. The Sixers held their first practice last year on September 22nd, and assuming that schedule is similar this season, there really was not a big window of time for Ben to work with his new teammates had he decided to go to China to play in the World Cup. Even then, you have to take into account the jet lag and required recovery time that comes as a result of playing multiple games over the course of two weeks on the opposite side of the Earth.
As mentioned in the note, Simmons will play in the exhibition games leading up to the tournament. That includes a pair of contests with the USA on August 22nd and 24th, in Ben’s hometown of Melbourne.
On the other hand, you could argue that maybe Ben is best served by playing the World Cup and firing up 25 jump shots a game, which might be good for Sixers fans but wouldn’t necessarily be in Australia’s best interest. His Boomer squad includes Sixers teammate Jonah Bolden and fellow NBA players like Joe Ingles and Patty Mills. Tobias Harris was one of the 20 American players invited to training camp, a group which will be trimmed to 12 before the tournament begins.