FILE – Ben Simmons #10 of the Brooklyn Nets looks on during the first quarter against the Philadelphia 76ers at Wells Fargo Center on January 25, 2023 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP
The Brooklyn Nets are shutting down point guard Ben Simmons for the rest of the season with his back injury, coach Jacque Vaughn confirmed Tuesday.
Simmons, 26, will begin a rehab program to treat the nerve impingement that has kept him out of the lineup since the All-Star break.
“Ben will not be joining us the rest of the year and through the playoffs,” Vaughn said. “After consulting with our doctors, multiple specialists, he’s just going to begin a rehab program. Our doctors and the specialists feel and think that he’ll have a full recovery so that starts now.”
Simmons, who played in just 42 games this season amid multiple nagging injuries, is not expected to need surgery.
“That is not in sight,” Vaughn said. “That’s the recommendation right now.”
When the Philadelphia 76ers traded Simmons to the Nets in February 2022, a back issue prevented him from making his team debut for the remainder of the season.
The three-time All-Star averaged 6.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.1 assists this season. In 317 career games (308 starts) for the Sixers and Nets, the former No. 1 overall draft pick has averages of 14.7 points, 7.8 rebounds and 7.5 assists per game.