Ben Simmons Signs with Kings: One-Year Deal Worth $3.5M After Missing Entire Season

Ben Simmons is back in the NBA. The Australian has agreed to a one-year, $3.5 million contract with the Sacramento Kings, according to Shams Charania. It will be his tenth season in the league after missing the entire 2025-26 season.

How We Got Here

The deal had been brewing for days. Kings general manager Scott Perry attended one of Simmons' workouts and was impressed with his physical condition, and from there Sacramento emerged as the most solid destination for a player who had been openly seeking an opportunity for months.

The figure explains the nature of the agreement: $3.5 million for one year is a minimal-risk bet with no future commitment, allowing the team to assess whether anything remains of the player he once was without real financial cost.

The Missing Numbers

Simmons did not play a single game during the 2025-26 season. He was left without a team when his contract with the Clippers expired and spent the year away from the court.

His last league statistics are from 2024-25: 5.0 points, 5.6 assists, 4.7 rebounds, 0.7 steals and 0.5 blocks in 22 minutes across 51 games between Brooklyn—which waived him in February 2025—and the Clippers.

The distance from his best version is enormous. In his four seasons with Philadelphia, he averaged 15.9 points, 8.1 rebounds and 7.7 assists with 56 percent shooting from the field. He was the 2016 Draft's No. 1 pick, 2018 Rookie of the Year, a three-time All-Star, twice named to the All-Defensive Team, once to the All-NBA Team, and led the league in steals in 2020.

What Role He Fills in Sacramento

What the Kings are buying is not scoring. Simmons never developed a reliable outside shot and it would be naive to expect him to now, at thirty years old and after a year away from competition. His value lies in his size, defense across multiple positions, rebounding, and ability to generate offense without needing the ball in his hands.

Two major questions remain unanswered. The physical one, because maintaining technique is not enough: his body needs to withstand the load of a full season and maintain the explosiveness that made his defense and penetrations so impactful. And the attitude question, because recent years have eroded his reputation, and this deal requires accepting a smaller role and rebuilding from the ground up—something he has never had to do.

At 30 years old, with a one-year contract for a symbolic amount relative to his past earnings, this is literally his last shot.