Ben Simmons joins Daniels and Giddey at Melbourne workout as Australian basketball momentum grows

Ben Simmons appeared in Melbourne on Tuesday at an Australian players’ work-out alongside Dyson Daniels and Josh Giddey, an appearance that arrived amid a broader surge in Australian basketball talent and investment. The gathering coincided with a season when 13 Australians were on NBA opening rosters and expanding interest in the NBL and WNBL.

National teams and domestic leagues form the backdrop to the workout: the Opals won their first Olympic medal since 2012 in Paris and the Boomers are aiming to reassert themselves internationally. Dyson Daniels and Josh Giddey are establishing themselves as NBA leaders while long-serving figures such as Patty Mills, now 38 and playing in France, have been central to the Boomers’ recent profile. Australian representation in the NBA reached 13 players on opening rosters last season — almost one in every two teams and roughly double the number four years ago — a growth that the article links to the sport’s renewed cultural presence reminiscent of the 1990s.

The NBA has responded to that expansion by treating Australia as a priority market, introducing promotions such as NBA House, which visited Australia in May. The New Orleans Pelicans played two pre-season games in Melbourne last year that almost sold out within 30 minutes of tickets being released, and Rajah Chaudhry, who leads the NBA’s strategy in Australia, said: “That tells us how much demand there is. We’d obviously love to bring out more teams and more games, but we’ll see how that goes.” For the NBA’s league pass live coverage subscription, only the US provides more subscribers than Australia, and in the video game NBA 2K6 Australia ranks third globally for total hours played.

Australian players are also making an impact in the WNBA, with Alanna Smith and Ezi Magbegor listed among the league’s top 10 earners, and the WNBA’s visibility has been amplified by the popularity of Caitlin Clark and peers such as Olivia Miles. That international attention has fed back into the domestic women’s league: the glow from WNBA interest is credited with driving a recent surge of investment in the WNBL led by Robyn Denholm.

The NBL has recorded tangible growth, setting a league attendance record of 18,589 in game five of last season’s championship series, and Melbourne United have announced high-profile additions. The club signed NBA player Cole Anthony and secured the return of Joe Ingles; Anthony, 26 and a former Orlando Magic player who averaged 16 points in his second year in the NBA, said: “Melbourne United, to me, is an elite program where I’m able to slot myself in and help them get some wins, and at the same time help boost my stock. I just think that this could be a great opportunity to play a high level of basketball, and not just a high level of basketball, but a high level of meaningful basketball.”

Ben Simmons, a 30-year-old free agent and three-time NBA All Star, made the Melbourne appearance after a period out of the NBA: his last NBA game was April last year. The article reports that after years of back complaints the man once recognised as one of the best 15 players in the NBA is apparently pain-free and mounting a comeback; Simmons told Channel Nine: "That’s why I’m here." Josh Giddey said after the workout: "He looked really good," adding, "He’s obviously stayed in shape and been working out." Dyson Daniels endorsed Simmons for selection for the national side, saying: "If he puts his hand up, he’ll be there" for the Fiba World Cup in 12 months.

Youth development is also noted: 17-year-old Luke Paul will join the Cairns Taipans after being named in the All Star Five for the Under-17 Fiba World Cup in July, and Jongkuch “JK” Mach, an 18-year-old who stands 7ft 6in (229 cm), is developing at Basketball Australia’s Centre of Excellence in Canberra. The season is set to feature a young prospect described in the article as the most talented Australian prospect since Josh Giddey.

Daniels’ endorsement that "If he puts his hand up, he’ll be there" frames a concrete selection possibility for the Australian team at the Fiba World Cup in 12 months, with Simmons’ fitness and commitment now prominent questions for selectors as domestic leagues continue to grow and feed into national-team depth.