Are the upcoming games of the 2025-26 NBA season the last time we will see Ben Simmons on the NBA court? ‘New York Post’s Stefan Bondy certainly caused this question to be asked as he reported that “Ben Simmons has generated interest from the Knicks and another team but is also questioning whether he even wants to continue playing in the NBA next season”. After having a poor run in the last three seasons (played just 64 games combined), and having rejected an offer from the New York Knicks now, the 29-year-old’s free agency situation seems bleak. However, if a social media user is to be believed, then the player has finally decided his future.

According to an X user by the name of ‘Marc Stien’, Ben Simmons has “officially announced his retirement from the NBA.” The post claimed that the player is completely “stepping away from basketball”. The X user also added a link to his Substack page with the caption “More to come”.

If any Ben Simmons fans got panicked after reading this news, then don’t worry. Marc Stein is a renowned American sports reporter who is the go-to person for NBA coverage for 1.4 million X followers. However, the X user who reported on ‘Ben Simmon’s retirement’ is a parody of Marc Stein. If the ‘Marc Stien’ isn’t enough to tip one off, one can go to the official profile page and see that X has marked the account as a ‘Parody Account’. The user himself/herself has described the page as a ‘fan account’.

The main X page of the real Marc Stein has not reported recently on any information, or even a rumor, of the former LA Clippers player retiring. Neither has any other renowned and verified news sources. Therefore, it is safe to say that the 3x NBA All-Star is not retiring. But this raises another question: why would a page spread such a claim? The answer lies in its history.

The ‘Marc Stien’ page has previously presented other false stories on its feed, ranging from the ‘news’ that Rob Pelinka was reportedly not informed about the LA Lakers‘ signing Marcus Smart to the story that the Lakers are finalizing a deal to acquire Karl-Anthony Towns from New York. The latter was highlighted to be a story first reported by @ScamsCharnia, which in itself is a parody of ESPN’s Shams Charania. However, if Ben Simmons were to listen to one of his former on-court rivals, then he would get a reality check and consider retirement if he hasn’t already.

Jeff Teague highlights that Ben Simmons’ days are numbered

Jeff Teague recently brought up Ben Simmons during a discussion on the ‘Club 520’ podcast. During the conversation, the 2021 NBA champion clearly stated that, “Yeah it’s over bro y’all seen him when he was playing. He can’t move no more. He runs like people on 2K. If you’ve got Kawhi’s motion style, you know what I’m talking about”.

As NBA reporter Zachary Howell said, “The career of Ben Simmons is one of the more tragic stories in recent NBA history”. The Australian was selected 1st overall in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Philadelphia 76ers, but pretty soon, he fell “far from grace”. Having fought back issues and mental blocks for the last few years, Simmons’s prowess level dropped. The same player who averaged 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists in his rookie season averaged just 5.0 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 5.6 assists in the recent NBA season.

“You run like your back hurts. He runs like his back hurts. He’s hurt, I used to always be like okay whatever, but no, he’s legit hurt,” Teague added. “What made him effective was pushing the ball and being dynamic in transition and he can’t do that anymore. Or he doesn’t have the opportunity, like nobody believes it”.

Do you think that, after the New York Knicks, Ben Simmons has a chance of getting a better offer from another team? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.