Ben Simmons has not been selected in Australia’s 18-man roster for the 2023 FIBA World Cup.

The Boomers roster has no shortage of NBA players, with ten of them making the squad – the most NBA representation they’ve had in history. Included among those names are the likes of talented Oklahoma City Thunder guard Josh Giddey, Dyson Daniels, Patty Mills, Josh Green, Joe Ingles and Matisse Thybulle. Simmons, however, was a notable omission.

However, all is not as dire as it seems for the enigmatic Brooklyn Net. Simmons is continuing to rehab the nerve impingement that prematurely ended his season, and there was little sense in selecting him in the squad for Australia.

The Boomers still have the potential to change their roster up until mid-to-late August, meaning that if Simmons recovers in time to return to the floor by then the prospect remains that he will join the Australian team.

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Indeed, coach Brian Goorjian told Australian radio station SEN that “We’ve made a spot for him if he’s available by the time of the Cairns camp. He definitely wants to be a part of this…he’s just trying to get healthy.”

At his best, Simmons would be a valuable addition to the Boomers squad, as he would for any team in the world. For all his flaws, he is one of the best defenders in the world and a versatile ball-handler in transition, but the form he showed early in his career has been notably elusive over the past few seasons.

Whatever Nets fans think of him, Simmons is currently taking up a roster spot and a return to the floor, wherever it may be, would be a step in the right direction. His non-selection in the initial Boomers squad is certainly not what they would have hoped for, but from all reports, an appearance at the FIBA World Cup – which begins in late August – is still very much a possibility.