'Built for this': Injured Simmons breaks his silence

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Injured Australian NBA star Ben Simmons says he is "built for this" as he starts his recovery from a devastating achilles tear he suffered just days away from making a miraculous return to the world's best league with the Sacramento Kings.

Simmons injured his achilles at Kings practice on the eve of the 2026-27 season and has since had surgery - something fellow stars such as Jayson Tatum, Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton have worked their way back from in recent months.

Lillard and Haliburton missed the entire 2025-26 season while Tatum returned early in the playoffs for the Boston Celtics.

Simmons, 30, broke his silence following the major hurdle with Andscape's Marc Spears, who was also behind the ESPN documentary 'Being Ben', which aired on October 18.

“My mentality is that I’ll be back,” Simmons told Andscape from his home.

“I’ll do everything in my power to get back, get healthy and be better than I was before. There is nothing but time and opportunity to do so. So, I’m going to attack it the way I am now."

The three-time NBA All-Star impressed during preseason and was set to be a major ingredient for the Kings this season and Simmons told Andscape he knew he was capable at the top level.

“I’m more than capable of playing in this league,” he said.

“I’m built for this. I’m not a normal guy. I’m kind of like a unicorn in the sense of how I play the game. I’m not your typical player. I don’t know how to put it, but I feel like I’m a lot different than most.”

The former Philadelphia 76er as well as Brooklyn Net and Los Angeles Clipper had impressed so much with the Kings in training camp and preseason that he was tipped to be a captain for Doug Christie's side this season.

While he spent more than a year out of the game, Simmons also spoke about some words he shared with Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr during a pre-season game.

“I said something to Steve,” Simmons said.

“I said, ‘Y’all didn’t want me?’ That was in the first quarter. And [Kerr] said, ‘I didn’t know if you were healthy.’ And I was like, ‘OK. That’s why you have people that do their job and go fly out and see.’ But it is what it is. That’s just me being competitive. It wasn’t personal.”

For the full story from Marc Spears and Andscape, click here.