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Ben Simmons finally won a championship – but not in the sport that defined most of his professional career. Last Sunday, the former NBA player won the Blue Marlin Open at the Sport Fishing Championship (SFC) in the Bahamas.
Simmons competed as an angler for the South Florida Sails, a club he co-owns.
Simmons said his investment in sport fishing was driven by a long-standing passion for the sport. “I always felt that investing in what you love meant you had a responsibility to help move it forward,” said Simmons, who last appeared in an NBA game during his lone season with the Los Angeles Clippers.
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Los Angeles Clippers guard Ben Simmons plays during the third quarter against the Sacramento Kings at Golden 1 Center. (Darren Yamashita/Imagn Images)
“Sport fishing has given me incredible experiences and SFC is creating a platform that treats offshore fishing like the elite sport that it is.”
Selected No. 1 overall by Philadelphia in the 2016 NBA Draft, Simmons was traded to Brooklyn in February 2022. He missed the entire 2021-22 season due to a contract dispute with the Sixers and a herniated disc revealed after joining the Nets. Simmons then underwent back surgery following Brooklyn’s playoff exit.
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Since becoming an NBA free agent after the 2024-25 season, Simmons appears to have shifted his focus from basketball to competitive fishing.
Simmons’ stake in Sails was announced last December. The official website of South Florida SFC lists the three-time NBA All-Star as the majority owner of the franchise.
South Florida opened the event strong, aided by angler Alex Stanley’s blue marlin release worth 450 points.
Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons watches Game 1 of the first round of the 2018 NBA Playoffs against the Miami Heat at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 14, 2018. (Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
Stanley added another blue marlin release later in the day, helping the Sails close the first day at the top of the leaderboard.
South Florida won the title after a dominant Saturday built an intimidating lead heading into Sunday’s final day. The Sails closed the event with 2,925 points, almost 1,500 more than the New Jersey Sea Birds.
Ben Simmons of the Brooklyn Nets watches the first half against the Utah Jazz at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York on January 29, 2024. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)
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Simmons’ victory came less than a year after fellow professional athlete Scottie Scheffler saw his Texas Lone Stars win the Zane Gray Championship playoffs. Scheffler is a two-time Masters champion.
