Well, it finally happened. Ben Simmons made his return to an NBA basketball court as a member of the Sacramento Kings. He wasn't on the court for long, and he didn't score a lot of points. But he was there to support his injured teammate, Maxime Raynaud, and that might define his return.
After more than a year away from the league, Simmons stepped in for the Kings as their starting power forward against the Warriors. Sacramento was expected to take their time with Simmons due to his history of injuries and the amount of rust his game probably has on it after being on the shelf.
At the same time, it was starting to get a little worrisome. The Kings keep talking about how great Simmons is doing, which is fine. No one expected them to tell the media he was falling apart. At the same time, it was a lot of talk and not much to show for it. People were starting to wonder.
Simmons did recently make his preseason debut with a relatively subdued performance. He played just a shade under nine minutes, collecting seven points on two of four from the field and picking up one assist. Again, it was day one for him, so no one was looking for an All-Star performance from him.
Standing out as a teammate
Arguably more important was Simmons response to Raynaud's injury. The sophomore center went down with an injury to his right patella that will be reevaluated in two weeks. At this point, there's no timeline on his return, so the Kings will have to reset their rotations in the long term.
While the injury was terrible, what was good to see was that Simmons was the first King out there to watch over Raynaud. When they took him to the back in a wheelchair, Simmons stuck by his side. He would later comment that he knew exactly how Raynaud was feeling and wanted to be there for him.
What Simmons does on the court for Sacramento matters. They need him to be a fully functioning part of this roster. More importantly, they need him to be this kind of presence. It will help young players like Raynaud find their place in the league if they know the vets are watching their backs.
Seeing Simmons be there for Raynaud is a sign that he is a more engaged teammate than he was is first run in the league. Fans would love to see that old school Ben Simmons on the court, but the roster also needs a new version of him in the locker room who is invested in the team.
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