Ben Simmons knows fans in Australia have been critical of him not suiting up for the national team. But Simmons also knows those fans know they need him, if the team is to medal in international competition.
“People are like, ‘Well you’re not Australian if you don’t want to play’, and all this stuff that comes with it. And I just laugh. I’m like, Alright. And I want my team to succeed all the time. So it’s just interesting seeing that go on and then when we get knocked out, people are like, ‘Okay, we do need him’,” Simmons said. “I’m like, Yeah, it would be nice to have me there because I’m one of the best players that’s come out of the country. So I love that respect, but at the same time it’s [about the] Olympics for me. That’s what I think about. Let’s get through the season healthy and play in the Olympics. That’s just going to be insane for me. I’m going for a medal, but just having that experience and to be able to represent my country, there’s probably nothing better than that.”
Simmons also expressed that he doesn’t just want to return to his former All-Star form. Now that he’s healthy, he has bigger goals in mind.
“I want to be better than an All Star. That’s where I want to be,” Simmons said. “I never try to live with myself. I’m never like, Well, hopefully, maybe I get a couple votes in an All-Star game. Nah, if that’s the case, I might as well be fishing.”