EXCLUSIVE: Ben Simmons on How a Egypt Became Part of His NBA Return

For 15 months, Ben Simmons disappeared from the basketball court. Now, in an exclusive SceneSports interview from Egypt’s Red Sea town of El Gouna, the three-time NBA All-Star has revealed his plans to return.

Battling through injury, the former first overall draft pick and Rookie of the Year had become pl;agued by one question: would he ever return to the player everyone expected him to become?

The answer, according to Simmons, is now clear.
“I don’t see myself playing in any other league besides the NBA, and I’m more than capable,” he tells SceneSports. “This might be the first time that I’ve said it, but, yeah, my plan is to come back and play.”

For much of the past year, Simmons has stepped away from the bright lights of the NBA, finding a different rhythm and routine away from the game he loves.

That journey brought him to El Gouna through an unexpected connection with Omar Khalifa, one of Egypt’s top anglers.

“I opened a message one day and found that he had invited me out to come fish on the Red Sea.”
Fishing has been part of Simmons’ life since childhood in Australia, long before basketball became his profession. After moving to the United States, summers in Miami turned a lifelong hobby into a serious passion.

Today, that passion extends beyond recreation. Simmons owns a controlling stake in the South Florida Sails Angling Club, which competes in the Sport Fishing Championship, and launched Real One Fishing Club, a lifestyle brand inspired by the sport.

“When I’m on the water, I feel like I’m at home, wherever I am,” he says. “I’m at peace.” That sense of calm has proved invaluable during a recovery that has tested one of the NBA’s most talented players.

Recurring back problems disrupted a career that once saw him become one of basketball’s brightest young stars. His last NBA appearance came in April 2025 with the Los Angeles Clippers, but the 29-year-old insists his story is far from over.

“It’s not an easy injury to get back from and move the same way,” he explains. “But it’s a work in progress and I’m working every day to get back on the floor as soon as possible.”

Despite spending more than a year away from the game, he has never considered anything else but an eventual return.

“I don’t see myself playing in any other league besides the NBA, and I’m more than capable.”
The past 15 months have changed Simmons’ daily routine, but not his ambitions. After finding peace away from the court, he is ready to take it by storm.