Victorian Government rejects ‘threat’ made over Ben Simmons‘ involvement in Boomers squad

Basketball great Andrew Bogut has aired bombshell allegations against the Victorian Government over Ben Simmons and a $145m “threat”.

Ben Simmons and the Philadelphia 76ers were knocked out of the NBA Playoffs by the Atlanta Hawks. Picture: Kevin Cox/Getty Images

Aussie basketball royalty Andrew Bogut has aired bombshell allegations against the Victorian Government over Ben Simmons and a $145m “threat”.

Bogut, speaking on his Rogue Bogues podcast, said the Daniel Andrews Government threatened to withdraw almost $150m for grassroots basketball in Victoria if the national team did not allow megastar Ben Simmons to play in a pair of exhibition games against Team USA in Melbourne in 2018.

The former Milwaukee Bucks and Golden State Warriors centre claimed the government applied pressure on Basketball Australia and Boomers head coach Andrej Lemanis before the games at Marvel Stadium, warning failure to add Simmons to the roster would mean basketball in Victoria will “never get another (cent) again”.

The Victorian Government emphatically denied the claims when approached by news.com.au.

Ben Simmons withdrew from the chance to play for the Australian Boomers in Tokyo. Picture: Tim Nwachukwu/Getty Images/AFP

“The Victorian Government made no such threat regarding the State Basketball Centre, which was a 2018 election commitment,” a spokesman for the government said.

“The fact is, Ben Simmons played in neither game and notwithstanding that, all funding commitments by the Victorian Government towards basketball have been honoured and were never in question.”

The story, which was picked up by media in Philadelphia where Simmons plays for the home town 76ers, centred around money allocated in the Victorian budget for upgrades to the State Basketball Centre in Wantirna South.

Bogut made the claims days after Simmons pulled out of the Tokyo Olympics to instead spend the NBA off-season working on his game.

“A lot of people have asked me, ‘Why isn’t (Ben Simmons) playing (in Tokyo)?” Bogut said.

“There’s more than meets the eye. This story I’m going to relay is multifaceted, it’s going to bring in a lot of different things of how dirty the business is.”

Ben Simmons and Maya Jama attend day 8 of Wimbledon 2021 at All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club on July 05, 2021 in London, England. Picture: David M. Benett/Getty Images

Bogut claimed the Victorian Government wanted to make sure Simmons played in the games because he was, at the time, an ambassador for a Tourism Victoria campaign.

“Around about March or April (2019), Ben puts out an Instagram post with an Australian Boomers jersey … we see it and are like, ‘Great, he’s finally going to join us (as part of the Australian team’,” Bogut said.

“I (later) find out that photo shoot is for Visit Victoria. Ben Simmons signed a marketing deal to be the face of Tourism Victoria. Kind of a no-brainer for Victoria at the time.”

Bogut claimed Simmons wanted to play in the Melbourne games and that the “Melbourne games were very important to him”.

He said coach Lemanis faced a predicament with playing Simmons because the Melbourne-born star was not committed to play in the World Cup. The team was worried Simmons’ inclusion would hurt team chemistry.

📸 @BenSimmons25 and @MayaJama in the Centre Court crowd for Manic Monday#Wimbledon | @RalphLaurenpic.twitter.com/QdUrN4Cr0T

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 5, 2021

“Andrei was trying to (keep) both sides (happy)” and was told “‘If you don’t let Ben Simmons play in these two games in Melbourne, that money’s gone’,” Bogut claimed.

Simmons trained with the Boomers but did not play in either game. The money for grassroots basketball in Victoria has never been under threat, the Andrews Government says.

The Philadelphia Inquirer pounced on the claims from Bogut. In an article published this week reporter Keith Pompey wrote: “Ben Simmons just can’t stay out of the news.

“First, the 76ers point guard’s shooting woes against the Atlanta Hawks in the Eastern Conference semi-finals drew international attention, and cries from Sixers fans for him to be traded.

“Then, he was spotted hanging out in England before news broke of his spending $17.5 million on a 12,000-square-foot mansion in Los Angeles’ Hidden Hills neighbourhood. Still in England, Simmons and his significant other, Maya Jama, were together in the Centre Court crowd on Monday at Wimbledon.”