Ben Simmons’ basketball career remains on hold, but the former first-overall NBA Draft pick hasn’t turned his back on sports.
Instead, the 29-year-old Australian has bought an ownership stake in a Sport Fishing Championship Team: The South Florida Sails Angling Club.
‘I have always believed that investing in what you love means you have a responsibility to help move it forward,’ Simmons, one of the team’s co-owners, said in a statement. ‘Sportfishing has given me incredible experiences, and SFC is creating a platform that treats offshore fishing like the elite sport it is.’
Zach Smith, another owner of the South Florida Sails, previously played college football at Mississippi State.
The first pick of the 2016 NBA Draft out of Louisiana State, Simmons was a three-time All-Star with the Philadelphia 76ers before injuries, shooting issues and other struggles derailed his career with the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers.
Fans were quick to remind Simmons of those shooting woes while responding to his news online.
Simmons shows what appears to be a grouper. The Australian is now a competitive fisherman
It’s not exactly the NBA Finals, but Ben Simmons is now in the Sport Fishing ChampionshipÂ
‘Ben Simmons chose fishing instead of hunting cuz he knows he can’t shoot,’ one fan wrote online.
There had been rumors that the left-handed shooting Simmons was naturally right handed – something basketball fans and reporters were mindful of when watching the 6-foot-9 point forward cast online.
‘Ben Simmons casts right and retrieves left, a technique that allows right-handed anglers to keep their dominant hand on the rod for maximum control,’ Yahoo! Sports’ Kevin O’Connor wrote on X. ‘The evidence is overwhelming that he shot the basketball with the wrong hand.’
Simmons never made a single 3-point attempt in his career and had just 59.2-percent accuracy at the free-throw line.Â
Others teased Simmons’ reputation for frequent rest during his NBA career.
‘Load management coming to sport fishing,’ one critic wrote.
Another joked: ‘Everything but hooping huh?’
Simmons briefly played with the Clippers last season, but went unsigned heading into 2025-26.
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NBA outcast Ben Simmons buys pro fishing team in Miami after former top draft pick went unsigned in 2025-26