Ben Simmons is one step closer to recovery -- the former #1 overall pick had back surgery to reduce pain from a herniated disc on Thursday ... and he says the microdiscectomy procedure was a big success.
"Surgery went well," Simmons said on Instagram minutes ago. "Thank you for the well wishes."
Of course, Ben's back first became a problem when he was still with the Philadelphia 76ers in February 2020 ... forcing him to miss several games.
The issues continued into the next season .