[Philly Inquirer] Ben Simmons is a champion — of a professional sport fishing tournament. The former Sixers guard’s team, the South Florida Sails, won the 2026 Sports Fishing Championships Walker’s Cay Open. Simmons turned down a vet min contract to join the Knicks, who play in the ECF tonight
On Sunday, the South Florida Sails — a professional fishing team owned by the former Sixers point guard — dominated the 2026 Sports Fishing Championships Walker’s Cay Open in The Bahamas. The Sails caught six blue marlin and three sailfish, good for 2,925 points. The second place New Jersey Sea Birds mustered just 1,450 points.
Simmons, who is currently a free agent and has not retired from basketball, was reportedly offered a veteran minimum contract with the New York Knicks this past offseason but turned it down.
“There’s a lot of things happening. I think for myself, I got to the point where I just wasn’t in a place physically yet to get back on the court and play to what I want to be able to give to the game,” Simmons told Andscape in December. “And obviously, you want to go back and get on the team, and that’s the focus.”