Breaking News: Ben Simmons Puts Aside NBA For Bizarre New Pursuit

Well, we knew that Ben Simmons's heart really wasn't in the NBA. In fact, we've known that for several years. But did anyone expect THIS to be his next move?

According to insider Chris Haynes, Simmons is done with the NBA for the time being in order to pursue a career in professional... fishing?

Ben Simmons is putting the NBA on hold to pursue a successful career in pro fishing, per @MarcJSpears.

(h/t @Fullcourtpass) pic.twitter.com/vN3gSQHD1x
— Legion Hoops (@LegionHoops) December 23, 2025

Yes, this is for real.

The shooting-challenged guard will now be a team owner of the South Florida Sails of the Sport Fishing Championship.

The offshore saltwater fishing league features tournaments with pro anglers.

Free agent Ben Simmons has turned to a pro fishing league instead of the NBA

“The way I see it, it’s like the new F1 [Formula 1] for fishing. The new LIV Golf for fishing,” Simmons told Haynes. “The first real competitive sport fishing championship. It’s a league of 16 teams, which is growing and expanding. And so, we’ll go out there and compete in various different tournaments, and there’ll be a champion crowned at the end... You’re fishing for white marlin, blue marlin, sailfish and striped marlin. There are all different point systems for each one."

Simmons is a free agent in the NBA, and is unsigned. After beginning his basketball run looking like an unstoppable guard with three All-Star seasons, his career was marred first by a nearly year-long holdout and then constant injuries, and just simple indifference.

Haynes says Simmons could be angling to get back into the NBA perhaps later this season (don’t hold your breath, though). But in the meantime, he's... hooked on this fishing thing.