Ben Simmons will make his Brooklyn Nets debut vs former team Philadelphia 76ers on Monday in his side’s first preseason game ahead of the 2022-23 NBA campaign.

Simmons was at the center of the NBA’s biggest holdout to date and is the most fined player in league history after refusing to play for the Philadelphia 76ers during the 2021-22 season.

The 26-year-old clashed with Joel Embiid during his time in Pennsylvania which led to the latter publicly criticising Simmons in the media, stating that the holdout and trade demands were ‘disrespectful’ to the franchise.

Despite returning to a single practice session with the team, Simmons was thrown out by head coach Doc Rivers after refusing to take place in a drill and received a one-game suspension.

The three-time All-Star cited mental health issues as the reason for his absence and was later traded to the Brooklyn Nets alongside Seth Curry and Andre Drummond in a package which sent James Harden to Philadelphia.

It was expected that Simmons would make his Nets debut during the playoffs in the first round against Boston and reports began to surface that he planned to play in game 4, however a herniated disk in his back prevented him from stepping onto the court.

Simmons, who is +20000 to win MVP in NBA betting, will play basketball for the first time in 469 days at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

The forward’s highly-anticipated debut tips-off at 7:30pm ET on Monday night and the Nets are believed to be incredibly high on the trio of Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Simmons as Brooklyn chase a first NBA championship.