Ben Simmons Signs One-Year Deal with Sacramento Kings
Ben Simmons is back in the NBA. And he’s heading to Sacramento.
The former No. 1 overall pick has agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million deal with the Sacramento Kings, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania and Marc Spears, returning to the league after sitting out the entire 2025-26 season.
This wasn’t a casual reunion tour stop. Charania reported that Simmons flew into Sacramento on Monday for what amounted to a full inspection: in-depth medical testing, an on-court workout, and extended meetings with head coach Doug Christie and other members of the organization. In late August, he also worked out for general manager Scott Perry and sat down with him for an hour, a sign the Kings wanted more than a cursory look at a name-brand reclamation project.
Simmons’ story has never lacked for drama. Drafted first overall in 2016 and fast-tracked to stardom with the Philadelphia 76ers, he looked like a franchise pillar—an All-Star playmaker with size, vision, and defensive versatility. Then the injuries piled up. Since the 2020-21 season, he has not topped 60 games in a year and missed the entire 2021-22 campaign.
His most active stretch since then came in 2024-25, when he appeared in 51 games between the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers. The raw numbers were modest: 5.0 points, 5.6 assists and 4.7 rebounds per game. The explosiveness and All-Star shine were gone, but the outline of a useful, multi-positional connector remained.
Last season, there was no outline at all. Simmons did not sign with any team in 2025-26.
He made it clear that was by design. In December, he told The Athletic’s Sam Jane he wouldn’t step back on the court until he felt “bulletproof.” By June, he was openly talking about a comeback, pointing to Miami and Philadelphia as potential destinations as he ramped up his work.
“I plan on getting as strong as I can physically, getting my ass on the court, and then the team realizing that my abilities will be needed,” he told Clay Skipper of Men’s Health. “I don’t have a plan on where. ... Maybe I’ll go back to Philly. Miami would be nice. And not because it's Miami—I like Erik Spoelstra, I like the Heat, I like their organization, I like the culture.”
The league, as it turns out, had a different script. Not South Beach. Not a Philadelphia homecoming. Sacramento.
For the Kings, this is a calculated swing at a discount price. Simmons is no longer the All-Star centerpiece he once was, and the Kings are not signing him to rescue the franchise. What he does give them is depth, size, and a rare kind of flexibility. At 6-foot-10 with guard skills, he can defend across positions, initiate offense, and push in transition. Sacramento doesn’t need him to score; it needs him to organize, to see passes others don’t, to plug gaps on defense.
That need has been glaring. Since trading De’Aaron Fox to the San Antonio Spurs, the Kings have been scrambling for steady hands in the backcourt. Rookie Darius Acuff Jr. brings talent and intrigue but not experience. Simmons, even in his diminished form, understands NBA tempo, reads coverages, and can settle possessions when the game starts to fray.
This is not a move that instantly vaults Sacramento into the contender tier. The questions around Simmons’ health, confidence, and consistency still hover. But the Kings, chasing relevance in a brutal Western Conference, now have a more complete roster, a different kind of playmaker, and a low-cost bet on a former star who once bent games to his will.
If Simmons can get anywhere close to that version of himself, Sacramento won’t just have filled a void. It will have changed the ceiling of its season.
