 Brooklyn Nets Media Day, Ryan Rucco, Sarah Kustak. And we are now joined by one of the new members of the Nets, Ben Simmons. Ben, welcome. We didn't get to talk to you really last year, so it's good to have you, man. Appreciate it. Thank you. So you already told us you didn't get to try the pizza the other day when you sat down with JJ and Tommy for the podcast. Rucco's already grilling you before we get started. Exactly. That was a missed opportunity. Finney Pizza, you got to check it out. I'll be back. But Ben, how about just being on the floor right now for you? I mean, what's the level of joy like for you getting to be back on the court after what you went through last season and then having back surgery at the beginning of the offseason? It was a lot. It was a lot. But now I see things a lot differently. The challenges I face now are a lot different. But I've been through a lot, so it's easier to really deal with the challenges that come up. But I'm happy to be back on the floor. It's exciting. It's where I want to be. And I'm looking forward to the season start. How much emphasis do you think about the rehab and coming back and everything with the surgery throughout the course of this summer? What was that like for you, the local of trying to rehab, trying to get yourself back? The uncertainty that was happening with the team and with the roster? For me, I was just trying to put myself in a position to focus on one thing, and that was rehab. There was so many other distractions that I could have really focused on and looked at. But for me, it's all about getting back on the floor and playing. So I was taking care of myself, and they gave my body right. Did you see any of the trade speculation? There's a lot of people talking about, oh, the Nets couldn't acquire X-Player because they have been on the roster because of that. And then they're like, well, you might have to ship Ben off here. And I'm thinking, there's all these different scenarios. Are you following that at all? No, who were they trying to ship me for? I don't know. It was like, if you get rid of Ben, I'm like, wait, Ken, just get rid of Ben. Don't listen to him. He's not not listening to the show. I don't pay attention to that stuff. I'm where I need to be, and I'm here for now. So whatever that situation looks like. But that's what I focus on as a present. What about getting yourself to a place with your mental health? Where you felt comfortable. You talked about the work you put in. Who were some of the people that helped you through that journey, Ben, to bring you to this place where you feel so good? Yeah, there's a number of people. I think there's people surrounding my family, friends. So I think those are the people that you're usually typically close with. But for me, it was just like, I kind of had to be selfish and focus on me and myself, my mental and then my physical health. So a lot of the time this past year has been spent, back given to myself. So I think it's something that, you know, everyone goes through their ups and downs, but at the same time, you got to be selfish. In what ways do you think that'll translate? You look at this group, you look at everything that occurred throughout the course of this off season, but a lot of new pieces, new parts translate in terms of leadership and the leadership that you could provide. Yeah, it's interesting. When you say leadership, because you know, you got Kevin who's not very vocal, but he leads through his example on the floor. You know, he's in the gym, he's working hard every day. Then you got Kyrie who also does the same thing. And for me, you know, I think I've gotten to a place where I want to speak up. I want to be, you know, one of the leaders on the team. I want to run the point and I want to put our team in the best position to win. How about just, you know, your vision, Ben, for the way you, Kevin, Ky, obviously the team as a whole, but specifically both of them and your game and the way that fits together. Yeah, I mentioned it a lot. The best example I can give is probably a team that we had maybe like 2017, 18, Marker Bellinelli, JJ Redick, Merson, and some of those guys where we was able to run, get stops, run, three balls, layups, it was just easy and fast. And I see that with this team. I see a lot of offensive weapons, but then defensively I see a lot of guys who can lock up and get out and transition. You fill a lot of gaps in that area defensively. Thank you. Let's start with that. But when you look at this last roster, the optionality, the versatility that comes along with it, we've heard how excited you are for yourself individually to get back on, but what excites you most about this collective? I think, because everyone, I wouldn't say it has something to prove, but I think we have a little chip on our shoulder where we want to go out and show people how great we can be. And that's going to take time, obviously. It's going to be our first year playing together, but it's exciting that you have a group of guys that are ready to win. How about the center position, Ben? Do you see yourself spending a lot of time at the five? If I need to. If I need to. If Clax needs a little break, for sure. How about you and Nick playing together? We were talking about it with him earlier, and he was just talking about the athleticism and the length and the defensive tenacity and what's possible on that end of the floor together. How do you see you and Nick be fitting on the floor together? Playing with him so far, you know, he's quick. He's longing and blocked shots. He's a presence down there, but he's able to get the ball and push it too. And that's one of the exciting things. You know, you got guys who are ready to run, you know, as soon as we get that rebound or stop, we're out and that's contagious. You're talking a lot about system, how you guys may play. We got to give props to JJ Redick, Tommy Alters, Old Man In Three podcast you were on was tremendous. It's one of my favorites. But with that being said, you had a lot of compliments for the coaching staff and who you've been working with in here. What has stood out to you most about this group? And I know there's some new parts to that staff this season, but what stood out to you most about the time you've spent with them to this point? I think just them believing in me. I think that's the main thing and just knowing I'm coming to a place where, you know, they trust in my work and who I am as a player and have a goal in mind for our team and see me fitting in there. So I think that's the main thing. And then obviously over time with the rehab, I've been in the gym every day with these guys. So I'm just excited to learn and grow with these men and coaches and, you know, the Rooks. You know, Ben, it's interesting because in this, something you talked about on that podcast as well, but like for whatever reason, you're a player that the one flaw got focused on a lot, right, the shooting from deep. But on this team, it's almost like when I think about the roster, I don't know if you're the same, I'm just like, that just doesn't matter on this team when you look at the offensive weapons, right? Everything you do great is exactly what this group needs. Is there any part of that and the way you fit with this team that kind of frees you up to be even more comfortable with your skill set and all your strengths rather than something that may be a weakness in your game? Definitely, I think the one thing about it, I wanna be able to create an environment for my teammates to share the ball and get open shots and get the best shots we can because we have so many weapons. And for me and myself, I find that easy playing with these guys because I know what they're capable of and what they do at a high level. And when I do it at a high level, I facilitate, I rebound, push the ball, I get to the rim. So if you're not gonna help off Kev or Kyle, Joe or Patty or Seth or there's a lot of royalties, there's a bunch of guys out there, you know? So you face me one-on-one, you know, going to the rim. So it's a little different now. I'm excited to play with these guys and keep building and learning. So I think it will take some time but it'll be fun. I don't wanna create any controversy. Uh-oh, it's always, I'm on here, it's controversy. But I have to ask an honest question. So Patty Mills was just here sitting down with us. And I think he was more asking about your health but asked if you were ready to play one-on-one and you said I'm ready to play one-on-five. Then I asked him who would win in a game of one-on-one. I'm killing him. And he said, I'm destroying him. Yeah, he said it very confidently too. Patty acted like it wasn't even a question that he was insulted I asked. And I hope everybody has that confidence on team when it comes to that question. Yeah. Have you guys ever played? Have you guys ever played? No, we will. Tomorrow I might play them. There you go. See? You've laid the seeds there, Sam. Here we go. Nicely done. How about then just looking at the Eastern Conference as a whole, you know, there was a time where not that long ago this conference was thought of as, you know, the little brother to the West. Now you look at the teams across the East, whether it's you guys, Milwaukee, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami. I mean, there's so many teams that you could easily see competing in this conference. How do you kind of view just going through the gauntlet of the East right now? Look forward to it. I'm excited. That's what we're in the NBA. That's what it's supposed to be like. You know, you're supposed to be competing against the best. That's what you want. You want to, I'm excited that the East is stacked like this. Yeah. I get to compete against, you know, great players all the time. So I know what Sarah wants to know. Are you going to be in the dunker spot? Are you going to be handling the point? Are you going to be everywhere? I'll be everywhere. Because you're going to be everywhere. I'll be everywhere. Do you remember, Sarah, even when Ben was with Philly, you used to always talk about, like, picturing Ben in the dunker spot at this group. I was always very high in your game to say the least. So I'm thrilled. I'm thrilled that you're here. Ben, we're great to, we're so happy to see you doing well and mentally, physically, ready to get on the floor. Are you full go? Practice one? I'm ready. OK. All right. I've got the uniform on. Let's go. All right. That's a little coy, but I'm going to take that as a full go. All right. Let's go. OK. All right. So good luck with practice tomorrow. Appreciate it. And this training camp journey. And thanks for being with us. Thank you, guys. Appreciate it. That's Ben Simmons. More still here to come.