Ben Simmons 'Ready to go' For Nets Debut, Hopes For Regular Workload

The Brooklyn Nets season debut for Ben Simmons is finally here and he can't wait to be on the hardwood for it.

© Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

Ben Simmons returns under the bright lights for his season debut with the Brooklyn Nets Wednesday night. A smiling and visibly excited Simmons glimmered at the Nets shootaround Wednesday morning about the big day. 

"Ready to go. [I'm] very excited," Simmons said. "Looking forward to getting out there and playing in the official start of the season. We got a great group of guys here ready to roll." 

Throughout the lead-up to Brooklyn's season opener, the 26-year-old star has been flooded with support from his star teammates and head coach, Steve Nash. Out of all the support received, there was a conversation he had with Kevin Durant has resonated with him. 

Durant knows first-hand what it's like to return to professional basketball after a long layoff. He missed the entire 2019-20 season rehabbing his Achillies. In a conversation with Simmons, Durant admitted there are emotions of nervousness and some anxiety that go into returning to the game. The new Nets star spoke about that at shootaround Wednesday morning. 

"He was just telling me you're supposed to feel that. If you aren't feeling it, something wrong, but I feel excited," Simmons said. "Ready to go. I can't wait to get out there. This is what I do so I love to do it and can't imagine doing anything else. I'm excited." 

To make things even sweeter for Simmons, he's hopeful to play his regular workload against the New Orleans Pelicans. That workload can range from 30 to 40 minutes. He might be back on the hardwood under familiar star minutes but is still taking the road back to regaining his star play day by day. 

"Slowly getting back to who I am and who I'm supposed to be. It's still taking a lot of time," Simmons stated. "I've only played four games. In those four games, not many minutes. Over time, I'm going to get there." 

Looking ahead to the season opener against the Pelicans, Simmons is embracing the challenge of guarding the best offensive player on the opposing team. In this case, that would imply the dominant Zion Williamson. In the preseason, Simmons took on guarding Giannis Antetokounmpo and Karl-Anthony Towns. Overall, he just wants to be the defensive tone-setter for Brooklyn - a leader the Nets have been searching for the last few seasons. 

"Whatever makes sense," said Simmons on guarding the best opposing offensive player. "We got some guys that can switch so I don't think it's a matter of just me individually. I think I definitely want to come out here and set the tone. We speak about that a lot as a team. I feel like everybody is on the same page, so it doesn't really matter if it's me, Kev, Royce, or Clax. I think everybody has it in them and wants to do their job defensively."

"There are not many guys in the league who can do that," added Simmons on being a defensive tone-setter. "I take the opportunity when it comes to guarding the best players in the world. It's a pretty good job." 

When Simmons was asked about the importance of getting game one of the regular season under his belt, he didn't imply there's a specific need for that. It's, once again, a day-by-day process for him to rebuild his three-time All-Star reputation on the hardwood. 

"I take every day day-by-day," Simmons said. "For me, I'm looking forward to playing this game. I can't wait to be out there. For the next 30 minutes, I'm going to go home and take a nap."

The Nets season opener against the Pelicans at Barclays Center will tip at 7:30 p.m. ET. Brooklyn will be without Joe Harris (left foot soreness), Seth Curry (left ankle - injury recovery), and TJ Warren (left foot - injury recovery).