Dreams Are Made in New York but for Ben Simmons, That Wasn’t the Case The New York pressure for Ben Simmons became a stage of setbacks, missed chances, and a harsh reality check under the NBA's bright

The rise of Ben Simmons once felt inevitable. That was the easy part. The hard part is watching what followed. What happened to the player who looked like the prototype for a positionless era? Someone who became only the second newcomer to pile up 1,200 points, 600 rebounds, and 600 assists in a single season. (Right behind Oscar Roberston.) Well, the LSU alum ended up trading one headline for another… From being the No. 1 pick to question marks in the playoffs. From All-Star votes to appearing quite regularly on the injury list. Ben Simmons was an NBA franchise centerpiece once upon a time. And now, in 2025, he’s at a crossroads that smells a lot like the end of a story. So where did it all tilt?

Fresh out of LSU, Simmons arrived as the No. 1 overall pick in 2016. And to say he