Former LSU Tigers and NBA star Ben Simmons trades basketball courts for the open water, now pursuing professional fishing in a new league.
A former LSU Tigers basketball star is taking an odd turn in his professional career, swapping out one sport for an unexpected one.
Andscape's Marc J. Spears reported that former No. 1 overall NBA draft selection Ben Simmons is putting his potential return to the league on hold as he pursues pro fishing.
Simmons is now the controlling operator of South Florida Sails, a team in the Sport Fishing Championship. This is a new league that was founded back in 2021. Other celebrity owners include Scottie Scheffler and Randy Moss.
"It’s a very niche sport. And if you don’t know, you don’t know. But once you experience it and get out there and see what it’s about, you’re kind of in awe of what the sport is. And that’s just something I’ve always been interested in in terms of the sport of fishing. The technique. And there’s so much to it that people just don’t understand," said Simmons per Spears.
There were a lot of ways that people saw Simmons' career going from the Tigers, but this is not one that many would have seen coming.
The 29-year-old spent one contentious season at LSU back in 2015/2016. It was a surprise that he ended up coming to Baton Rouge, but everyone knew that it was a stepping stone and many questioned how seriously he was taking that college season.
He performed well as an individual. He averaged 19.2 points, 11.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.0 steals. He won SEC Freshman of the Year and was a consensus first-team All-American. That Tigers squad underwhelmed, though, finishing just 19-14.
Simmons went on to become the first overall pick to the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2016 draft. He was a Rookie of the Year winner, three-time All-Star and two-time All-Defense, all within the next five years.
He missed all of the 2021 and 2022 season due to injury and a holdout. It was a big media circus. He eventually got his wish and got traded to the Brooklyn Nets in 2022 and his career never really turned around after that.
The Australia native averaged 5.9 points, 5.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists over the last three seasons. The Nets bought out his contract last season and he signed with the Los Angeles Clippers, but didn't have much of an impact.
It's not too surprising to see him gravitate towards fishing, given his tumultuous NBA career. It's a chance to enjoy the outdoors and away from the social media craze that has followed him for a long time.