Ben Simmons is destined for the Hall of Fame. People believed in him in that place before his decline from grace happened in record time. The former number one pick sits unsigned this season. His career trajectory has baffled scouts, coaches, and fans across the league.
Now his former agent is breaking his silence on what went wrong with him. Rich Paul appeared on the Game Over podcast with Max Kellerman. His explanation cuts straight to the heart of Simmons’ decline — and surprisingly, it’s not about the talent or injuries that many people thought initially.
Rich Paul Sounds Off on Ben Simmons’ Lost Passion
Paul didn’t sugarcoat his assessment when asked about Simmons’ fall from grace. The Klutch Sports founder pointed to a fundamental problem with motivation and hunger. Simmons achieved every major milestone by age 25 but never developed the obsession required to sustain greatness.
The Australian collected his hardware fast, including rookie of the year, three All-Star selections, and so on. Then he signed a five-year, $177.2 million max extension from the Philadelphia 76ers. He reached the summit before figuring out what he has left to achieve.
“Everything that Ben wanted to happen for Ben happened for Ben,” Paul said. “He was the number one pick in the draft, he was the Rookie of the Year, he was a perennial All-Star, he was All-NBA and he got the max contract.”
Then the former agent dropped the money line. He said, “There’s two ways to go about this. Either, you love what the game brings you or you love the game and when you play this game for so long as a kid and most kids don’t say, ‘I want to get to the NBA and I want to be great in the NBA for 15 years’. No, they dream of making it to the NBA.”
Rich Paul on what happened with Ben Simmons
“Everything Ben wanted to happen, happened. Number 1 pick, ROY, All stars, All NBA, and got the Max Contracts. Either you love what the game brings you or you love the game. Some guys get to top of mountain and want to go back down”… pic.twitter.com/YyIAhKCW9A
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) December 31, 2025
Paul then used a mountain climbing metaphor to explain the difference between players who coast and players who grind.
“So, you’re going up that mountain and some guys get up that mountain and saying, I made it’… some guys get there and it’s like, ‘Good. I got up there. Now I’m going to go back down’. Some guys and like, ‘OK, now I want to go higher’ and that’s the difference.”
“Everything was fast,” he added. The rapid success meant Simmons never developed the mentality required to push past his comfort zone. So, his zero hunger has made his downfall obvious, unfortunately.
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Scouts have whispered about that same assessment for years. Simmons never worked on his jump shot, and that showed how he plays. That infamous passed-up dunk against Atlanta in the 2021 playoffs crystallized the narrative. He allegedly chose to stay comfortable instead of fixing his weaknesses.
Fans React to Rich Paul’s Honest Take on Ben Simmons
The NBA community had shown strong alignment with Paul’s candid assessment on X.
One fan wrote, “That line hits hard, talent opens doors but love for the game decides who stays.”
Another fan added, “I think everyone knows Ben doesn’t love the game.”
The third one claimed, “Speaking facts.”
A fourth one shared, “Rich Paul explains it from an agent’s perspective. Yes, Ben Simmons has had a successful career in getting his money. It was clear that he had no interest in being a great NBA player.”
A random X user remarked, “Facts he set himself up and everyone around him and got his whole life ahead of him. Can pursue other passions with the financial security he has. Not everyone wants to play 30 years in the league.”
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Ben Simmons, now 29, is focusing on fishing as a business. He owns South Florida Sails, competing in the Sport Fishing Championship. He says he still plans to return to basketball but isn’t rushing it. The drive Paul mentioned may never fully come back after what Paul said.
