“If I Was Playing Against Myself From Last Season, I Would K*ll Him”: Ben Simmons Delivers Update on Back Injury, Wants to ‘Dominate’ in 2023–24 Season

Brooklyn Nets star Ben Simmons is now injury-free. Suffering from a back injury he picked up while still with the 76ers, Simmons’ all-around game has diminished significantly since. However, now, the 2018 Rookie of The Year is ready to make a comeback, and in his own words, ‘dominate’ during the upcoming 2023-24 season. Simmons boldly declared his intentions in an interview with Andscape.

In an effort to improve his offseason progress, Ben Simmons has moved from his home in Los Angeles to Miami. Additionally, Simmons has been working five hours daily to get physically and mentally in shape for the upcoming year.

Ben Simmons and his road to recovery from setbacks

During the interview, Simmons was asked about his recovery from the back injury. The Australian responded by saying that he had no intentions of reverting to the player he was for the past two seasons. Additionally, he declared his intention to outperform his past self.

Ben Simmons says his goal is to ‘dominate’ players next season

“For me to come back and dominate people will be great. I don’t intend to come back the same player I was last [season], because that’s not even close to where I am. I get excited because I’m like, ‘Damn, I would… pic.twitter.com/lII9RVh66k

— NBACentral (@TheDunkCentral) August 29, 2023

He said:

“For me to come back and dominate people will be great, I don’t intend to come back the same player I was last [season], because that’s not even close to where I am. I get excited because I’m like, ‘Damn, I would [expletive] on the player I was last year.”

Simmons was then asked about his current body conditioning in terms of strength, to which he replied:

“Way stronger. The strongest I’ve been physically, in terms of like moving weight. This is the strongest my core has ever been.”

Simmons comments on how he has made significant gains in strength training and how changes in the training program have made his core reach its peak strength.

“That’s the biggest thing, being in tune with my body. Everything feels easier. When I was younger, I was in tune. It was just programmed. You do things naturally. You don’t think about it twice … Now, doing these little things every day, my body is in tune the right way to use everything. So, it’s exciting.”

Marc Spears also asked Simmons if he was hoping to start the NBA season. This is especially important considering Ben’s history of getting injured during the early phase of NBA seasons. Simmons, however, did not see this as an issue. He confidently responded:

“Definitely. Yeah. The version I’m at now, if I were playing against myself from last season, I would k*ll him. That’s how I feel.”

Simmons displayed a confidence that hasn’t been seen from him over the last 2 years.

The evolution of Simmons’ workouts

In an attempt to understand what Simmons had changed in his workouts that led to this supreme confidence, Marc J. Spears asked him about his workout regime.

Simmons claimed he’s reached his current level by maintaining a daily routine with a mix of body weight and functional training exercises. He also combined this with lifts, and depending on the day’s plan, he would either practice shooting or other areas of his game.

“I wake up, I’ll get ready. I’ll get on the [training] table with my trainer Scott. Eat breakfast, get on the table, get treatment done for about like an hour, 45 minutes. Depending on what day, I’ll do Pilates first. I’ll do some knee loading and then I’ll either hop on the bike [Peloton] or go straight to facility. And then head to the gym, but depending on what stage we were at with the rehab. At the start, I got in the OTG [Off the Grid Fitness], so the treadmill with the air, so it’s taking your body weight off. Once we got that, we were more onto the court, then we usually hit a lift right after. Then depending on what is next, we usually go back and shoot, depending on if it’s a long session or a short session.”

The talented Australian is looking to save his NBA career after two seasons of injuries and extreme criticism. If Simmons’ words are anything to go by, we could see the return of the man who once won the 2018 ROTY award.