Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons is "good to go" when the NBA resumes the 2019-2020 season later this month.

Head coach Brett Brown said Simmons, who last played in a game on Feb. 22 because of a pinched nerve in his back, is ready to play now.

"He's put in a tremendous amount of work for me to be able to confidently say that," Brown said on a conference call with reporters Wednesday afternoon.

"As you search for silver linings with this pandemic and the way things have shaped up, it would be hard-pressed for me to find something more obvious than this: It's enabled Ben to reclaim his health. He's good to go, and we look forward to watching him with what I'm told is effectively 100 percent health."

The Sixers play their first game since March 11 on Aug. 1 against the Indiana Pacers.

Fellow All-Star Joel Embiid should also be set for game action in August, Brown said.

"There is nobody on our team that has put in more time than Joel Embiid," Brown said. "Forget what he has actually done in the gym for a minute, just go to the man hours and consecutive days and the amount of days he has put in over the past few months. I'm proud of him, I respect him. He needed to do it. We understand the impact he can have on our team.

"... I'm looking for Joel to come in in as good of shape as he's been in since I have coached him. I think the three weeks we have together is an inverted sort of luxury we haven't had. I'm excited for Jo to get back into this and show what he has been doing the last few months."

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