May 20, 2026
@TheSFC_official/X
The South Florida Sails, a professional sport fishing club co-owned by former Sixers star Ben Simmons, won its first major tournament championship over the weekend at the Walker's Cay Open in the Bahamas. Simmons is pictured with the club above, second from right.
Former Sixers forward Ben Simmons bought a sport fishing club in Florida last year as he stepped away from his tumultuous NBA career. On Sunday, Simmons' South Florida Sails squad captured its first major tournament championship at the Walker's Cay Open in the Bahamas.
Simmons, the first overall pick in the 2016 NBA Draft, serves as both the majority owner and an angler for the Sport Fishing Championship club based out of the Florida keys and coastal communities. At the time he bought the club, the Australian said fishing has been a lifelong passion and he wants to help elevate the sport.
“I have always believed that investing in what you love means you have a responsibility to help move it forward,” Simmons said in a statement. “Sportfishing has given me incredible experiences, and SFC is creating a platform that treats offshore fishing like the elite sport it is.”
The Sport Fishing Championship is the top professional league for offshore, saltwater and big game. The league has 12 regular-season tournaments per year split across two divisions. The top two clubs from the Gulf and Atlantic divisions, where Simmons' club competes, meet in the fall for the Zane Grey Championship Playoffs in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
The South Florida Sails crushed the competition at the three-day Walker's Cay Open, a catch-and-release contest that's scored based on reeling in different species of billfish and other eligible game. Simmons' club finished Day 1 with a narrow lead over the New Jersey Sea Birds. Anglers Alex Stanley and Lee Albarty together caught and released three blue marlins, the high score species that nets 450 points each.
On Days 2 and 3, the South Florida Sails ran up the score by pushing their total to six blue marlins. They finished the tournament with 2,925 points, well ahead of the second-place Sea Birds' 1,450 points. Five other clubs also competed.
Simmons' own fishing prowess has come a long way since he became a meme during the NBA's bubble playoffs in 2020, a season shortened by the COVID-19 pandemic. A video at the time showed Simmons tossing a small fish off a dock, only to have it bounce off a railing before tumbling into the water.
Bu arada Ben Simmons şampiyon oldu... balıkçılık turnuvasında 😂 pic.twitter.com/ZtiSuLIsid
— Eurohoops Türkiye (@EurohoopsTR) May 20, 2026
These days, Simmons regularly posts photos of his fishing exploits on Instagram, including a mahi mahi catch in Miami in March.
Simmons missed his first NBA season with an injury, but won Rookie of the Year honors in the 2017-18 season, earned three All-Star appearances and made two NBA All-Defensive teams during his seven-year career.
After several playoff letdowns in Philly, Simmons forced his way out of town with the 2022 trade that brought James Harden to the Sixers. Simmons played sparingly for the Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers, where he was plagued by injuries, before leaving basketball at the end of the 2024-25 season.
Last year, Simmons reflected positively on his time in Philadelphia.
"I didn't appreciate the fans enough. The fans of Philadelphia are incredible," Simmons said during an appearance on "The Young Man and the Three" podcast. "You always want to play for a team that has a good fanbase, whether they're booing or whatever. You just want fans to care."
