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Philadelphia 76ers: 3 goals for Ben Simmons going into next season

By Larry Hammonds

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - FEBRUARY 16: Ben Simmons #2 of Team LeBron dunks the ball during the 69th NBA All-Star Game at United Center on February 16, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Ivan Shum - Clicks Images/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - FEBRUARY 16: Ben Simmons #2 of Team LeBron dunks the ball during the 69th NBA All-Star Game at United Center on February 16, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Ivan Shum - Clicks Images/Getty Images) /
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Philadelphia 76ers, Ben Simmons
Ben Simmons, Philadelphia 76ers (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

Get healthy and build strength

Heading into the 2019-2020 campaign, Simmons had proved to be pretty durable, missing just four games his first two seasons after redshirting his rookie year recovering from a broken foot.

This season, it was a little more difficult for Simmons to stay on the court. He missed two games early in the season with a shoulder injury, and he also missed the team’s last eight games before the season was suspended with a back injury.

Simmons used the time off to rehab and got back into playing shape and arrived at the Orlando bubble healthy but eventually suffered an injury during the seeding games that led to season-ending knee surgery. With so much uncertainty surrounding the 2020-2021 season, his number one focus should be his health, short-term and long-term.

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Simmons will need to spend the better part of the offseason rehabilitating his leg. Building up his leg strength again will be critical before he can resume basketball activities. It will be smart for Simmons to use this time to improve his core strength and strengthen his back.

There wasn’t anything he could have done to avoid the freak injury that essentially ended his season and forced him to miss the playoffs. Still, Simmons has now missed a total of 102 out of 319 possible regular-season games due to injury or illness since being drafted by the 76ers.

If he wants to be known as one of the best athletes and players to grace a basketball court, he has to do a better job of taking care of his health. That starts with his eating habits and improving his strength and conditioning.