Ben Simmons: “I want to take part in the Olympic Games in Paris with Australia”

Ben Simmons has heard a lot over the years not representing Australia in major tournaments. However, he wants to make it, starting with the Paris 2024 Olympics, assuming of course that the “boomers” qualify.

The Nets guard gave ESPN show andscape a lengthy interview in which he discussed what he’d been through physically and mentally over the past two years, and when he spoke about joining the Australia national team he was clear .

“I want to add 100% to the team at the Olympics. That’s what I want to do next summer” Simmons first explained before adding: “I want to play.

I get messages from Australians telling me I have to play now. But I’ll play when I’m physically ready. In recent years there has never been a time when I was really physically fit before a major event. However, next year my goal is to be on the Olympic team.

The former All Star then opened up about what he’d been going through on and off the field due to the issues plaguing his lower back, which required him to have surgery and said he can’t even do everyday things.

“I don’t think people can understand how I felt. The fact that I can now sit and just relax is new to me. But I’m close to 100%” He first explained and then added:

“I couldn’t even do simple, everyday things. Walk, get up, get out of bed. I had pain. If I sat too long I would be pinched and the nerve would send the pain up my leg. I couldn’t even drive to the stadium.

In conclusion, Simmons also referred to last season with the Nets, where he played injured, which is why he was not able to strengthen his team in the end, and decided to undergo new tests: “I tried to play but couldn’t. People told me to try but I couldn’t jump very well. He hooked a hook in the air because I couldn’t step on my left foot, which couldn’t take the pressure and was swollen

I tried to play, to manage it all, to please everyone. But I couldn’t take it anymore. I could hear people saying I didn’t want to play. So I decided to take it seriously, took tests and discovered that I had two herniated discs in my lower back – left and right of the same disc, and as a result I couldn’t step on my right foot. I’ve been working on it all summer.