Philadelphia 76ers (2016–2022)
In the week leading up to the 2016 NBA draft, Simmons' attitude and character were questioned by a number of NBA media analysts. Philadelphia 76ers head coach Brett Brown, former Australian national team coach and a friend of the Simmons family, repudiated the claims being made and was content with Simmons' pre-draft behavior. On 23 June, he was selected by Brown and the 76ers with the number one overall pick in the 2016 draft, becoming the third Melbourne-born number one overall pick in 11 years (Andrew Bogut in 2005 and Kyrie Irving in 2011). He was also the first college player in the modern era to be selected with the first overall pick despite never playing in the NCAA tournament.
On 3 July 2016, Simmons signed his rookie scale contract with the 76ers and joined the team for the 2016 NBA Summer League. While he shot the ball poorly during his first three Summer League games, Simmons was praised for his court awareness and passing ability for a big man. He went on to be named in the All-Las Vegas Summer League First Team, and in six Summer League games, he averaged 10.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 5.5 assists per game.
On 30 September 2016, Simmons rolled his right ankle during the 76ers' final training camp scrimmage. After receiving an X-ray and MRI of the foot and ankle, it was determined that Simmons had fractured the fifth metatarsal bone of his right foot and was estimated to miss three to four months. On 24 February 2017, he was ruled out for the entire 2016–17 NBA season after tests revealed that his broken right foot had not fully healed.
Some pundits doubted his strength, fitness, and scoring prowess after a full season on the sidelines, with only an outside chance for Rookie of the Year. In his NBA debut on 18 October 2017, Simmons had 18 points and 10 rebounds in a 120–115 season-opening loss to the Washington Wizards. In his third game, on 21 October, Simmons recorded 18 points, 10 rebounds, and eight assists in a 128–94 loss to the Toronto Raptors, joining Oscar Robertson as the only players ever to post 10-plus points, 10-plus rebounds, and 5-plus assists in their first three NBA games. In his fourth game, on 23 October, Simmons recorded his first career triple-double with 21 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 97–86 win over the Detroit Pistons, becoming the third rookie after Robertson (1960) and Art Williams (1967) to record a triple-double in his first four games. He went on to become the only player in NBA history to begin a season with at least 170 points, 100 rebounds, and 80 assists in his team's first 10 games.
On 29 November, he had 31 points and a career-high 18 rebounds in a 118–113 win over the Wizards. On 22 February, he scored a career-high 32 points, making two free throws with 5.6 seconds left to complete Philadelphia's rally from five points down in the final minute as the 76ers beat the Chicago Bulls 116–115. On 15 March against the New York Knicks, Simmons recorded his second consecutive triple-double and joined Robertson and Magic Johnson as the third rookie in NBA history to reach 1,000 points, 500 rebounds, and 500 assists. His triple-double against the Knicks was his eighth of the season, thus entering second place for most triple-doubles in a rookie season, trailing only Robertson (26).
On 19 March against the Charlotte Hornets, Simmons recorded 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 15 assists, and he became the third rookie to have 0 turnovers in a triple-double game. On 24 March, he recorded his 10th triple-double of the season with 15 points, 12 rebounds, and 13 assists in a 120–108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves. On 26 March, he had 11 assists in a 123–104 win over the Denver Nuggets, topping Allen Iverson (567) to set the team rookie record for assists. On 6 April, he had 27 points, 15 rebounds, and 13 assists in a 132–130 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, leading the 76ers to their 13th straight win. He was subsequently named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played Monday 2 April to Sunday 8 April.
In the 76ers' penultimate game of the regular season on 10 April, the 76ers set a franchise record with their 15th consecutive victory following a 121–113 win over the Atlanta Hawks, with Simmons recording 13 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists. The 76ers finished the regular season with a 16th straight win to earn the Eastern Conference's No. 3 seed in the playoffs. Their record of 52–30 set the best team mark since 2001, when they went 56–26. At the conclusion of the regular season, Simmons was named the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month for games played in March and April, earning the award for the third consecutive month and the fourth time overall.
In his NBA playoff debut in game 1 of the 76ers' first-round playoff series against the Miami Heat, Simmons had 17 points, 14 assists, and nine rebounds in a 130–103 win. In game 4, Simmons helped the 76ers take a 3–1 lead in the series with 17 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists in a 106–102 win. He became the first rookie since Magic Johnson in 1980 to have a playoff triple-double, and became the fifth rookie with a triple-double in the playoffs, joining Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jerry Lucas and Tom Gola. Simmons helped the 76ers move on to the second round of the playoffs with a 4–1 defeat of the Heat, as he recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds in a 104–91 win in game 5. The 76ers went on to lose in five games to the Boston Celtics in the second round, with Simmons recording 18 points, eight rebounds, and six assists in a 114–112 loss in game 5. At the season's end, Simmons was named the NBA Rookie of the Year and earned NBA All-Rookie First Team honours.
In September 2018, Simmons announced that during the off-season he began working to improve his shooting with his brother Liam Tribe-Simmons, former assistant coach for University of California, Riverside Highlanders men's basketball team and Southwest Baptist Bearcats men's basketball team, and would continue to do so for the remainder of the season. In the 76ers' season opener on 16 October 2018, Simmons recorded 19 points, 15 rebounds, and eight assists in a 105–87 loss to the Boston Celtics. Two days later, he had a triple-double with 13 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 127–108 win over the Chicago Bulls. He reached his 13th career triple-double with 2:34 left in the third and became the first Sixer to ever get one in a home opener.
On 2 January, he scored 29 points in a 132–127 win over the Phoenix Suns. On 5 January, he recorded his sixth triple-double of the season with 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 106–100 win over the Dallas Mavericks. On 11 January, he had 23 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds in a 123–121 loss to the Atlanta Hawks. Two days later, he had 20 points, 22 rebounds, and nine assists in a 108–105 win over the New York Knicks. On 15 January, with 20 points, 11 rebounds, and 9 assists against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Simmons became the second fastest player in NBA history to reach 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, and 1,000 assists, trailing only Oscar Robertson. Simmons reached this milestone in 125 games, which is 9 games faster than Magic Johnson and 33 games faster than LeBron James. On 23 January, he had 21 points, 15 assists, and 10 rebounds in a 122–120 win over the San Antonio Spurs. On 31 January, he received his first All-Star selection as an Eastern Conference reserve, becoming the first Australian to receive the honour. On 28 February, he recorded his ninth triple-double of the season with 11 points, 13 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 108–104 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder. Two days later, he had 25 points, 15 rebounds, and 11 assists in a 120–117 loss to the Golden State Warriors.
In game two of the 76ers' first-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets, Simmons had his second career postseason triple-double with 18 points, 12 assists, and 10 rebounds to lead Philadelphia to a 145–123 win. In game three of the series, Simmons scored a postseason career-high 31 points on 11-of-13 shooting in a 131–115 win over the Nets, putting the 76ers up 2–1 in the series.
On 15 July 2019, the 76ers and Simmons agreed to a $170 million, five-year contract extension. On 23 October 2019, in the 2019–20 NBA season opener against divisional rivals the Boston Celtics, Simmons scored 24 points on 68 percent shooting and recorded nine assists and eight rebounds in a 107–93 win. On 22 November, Simmons recorded his first triple-double of the season and his 24th of his career after recording 10 points, 10 rebounds, and 13 assists in a 115–104 win over the San Antonio Spurs. On 7 December, Simmons scored a career-high 34 points, while making 12 out of 14 shots, in a 141–94 win over the Cleveland Cavaliers, which included his second NBA career three-pointer. On 23 December, Simmons recorded yet another triple-double, this time completing the feat while recording a career high 17 assists, in a win over the Detroit Pistons.
By this time, Coach Brett Brown was publicly pushing Simmons to develop his shot. “This is what I want,” Brown told reporters in December. “You can pass it along to his agent, his family and friends: I want a 3-point shot a game, minimum. The pull-up 2s...I'm fine with whatever is open. But I'm interested in the 3-point shot.” But as the season progressed, Simmons did not follow through on Brown’s shooting demands. "I told Ben, 'If you aren't willing to shoot, then do I just bench you? Because I can do that,'" Brown later said.
On 20 January 2020, Simmons scored 34 points and recorded 12 assists and 12 rebounds in a 117–111 win over the Brooklyn Nets. On 30 January, it was announced Simmons had been awarded with his second All-Star appearance. Simmons was drafted by Team LeBron and went on to score 17 points, 5 assists, and 6 rebounds in a Team LeBron win. In a 22 February game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Simmons left the game in the first quarter with an apparent lower back injury. It was revealed Simmons had a nerve impingement in his lower back; the team listed him as "out for an extended period of time". Simmons was sidelined until the NBA returned after pausing play due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Simmons returned to play on 1 August 2020 during the NBA Bubble where he scored 19 points along with 13 rebounds and 4 assists in a loss to the Indiana Pacers. Simmons sat out the playoffs due to a knee injury, and the 76ers were eliminated 4–0 by the Boston Celtics.
At the end of the season, Simmons was the 2020 NBA steals leader, and was named to the All-NBA Third Team and the NBA All-Defensive First team.
On 15 February 2021, Simmons recorded a double-double with a career-high 42 points and 12 assists in a 134–123 loss to the Utah Jazz. He finished the season averaging 14.3 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 6.9 assists per game.
During the playoffs, Simmons struggled at the free-throw line and became the worst free-throw shooter in postseason history with at least 67 attempts (34.2 percent), surpassing both Wilt Chamberlain (38 percent) and Shaquille O'Neal (37.4 percent). Following a Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Atlanta Hawks, Simmons came under heavy scrutiny due to his inability to shoot and lack of aggressiveness on offense. Simmons did not attempt a single shot in the final quarter in five out of the seven games, which many attributed to his lack of confidence in shooting free throws. He averaged 9.9 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 8.6 assists per game and shot 60 percent from the field and 33 percent (15-for-45) from the free throw line against the Hawks.
After the 76ers' Game 7 loss in the 2021 Eastern Conference Semifinals, Joel Embiid cited Simmons' decision to pass up an open dunk as the turning point in the game. A reporter asked 76ers coach Doc Rivers if Simmons could be a point guard on a championship team, to which Rivers responded: "I don't even know how to answer that right now."
In response to this and other factors, Simmons, despite having four years left on his contract, decided in August 2021 that he no longer wanted to be a member of the team. He declared his intentions to be traded, and noted that he was willing to miss training camp to enforce his trade demand. Simmons and company had also indicated that his play did not mesh effectively with that of Embiid and that their time as teammates had run its course. Embiid's public comments in response included calling Simmons' holdout and trade demands "borderline ... disrespectful" to the team, and that team management had built rosters around Simmons.
Simmons, as he had indicated, missed training camp. He also did not play in the preseason and even placed his Philadelphia home on the market for $3.1 million. His absence led to the 76ers organisation reportedly withholding and putting in escrow $8.25 million that would have otherwise been owed to him on 1 October, signifying over a quarter of the $31.59 million owed to him for the 2021–22 season.
Simmons returned to the team on 11 October 2021. On 19 October, Simmons was thrown out of practice by Rivers due to declining several times to substitute into a drill and was suspended by the 76ers for one game, the team's season-opener against the New Orleans Pelicans, due to conduct detrimental to the team. Simmons had previously been fined $1.4 million due to his absence from four preseason games, missed practices, on-court workouts, and meetings. After Simmons told the 76ers his absence was due to a mental health issue, team officials stopped fining him, but later resumed the fines after he continued to refuse to cooperate with them. Due to the repeated fines for missed games, Simmons became the most-fined player in NBA history, with reports suggesting he had surpassed $10 million by the end of 2021.
In January 2022, the 76ers reportedly had limited their fining of Simmons in response to him attending team meetings and counseling sessions, but continued to dock him for missed games. Simmons subsequently filed a grievance to recoup nearly $20 million in salary withheld from him by the 76ers, and the two sides settled in August 2022 for an undisclosed amount.
