Let’s fill you in on this feud between Donovan Mitchell and Ben Simmons. Both are top-flight contenders for the Rookie of the Year award to be handed out at Monday’s 2018 NBA Awards, but a case could be made that Simmons isn’t a rookie in the truest sense -- he was drafted two seasons ago, but sat out all of his would-be rookie year with an injury.
While Mitchell has made this argument before, there’s obviously no time like the night of the awards show to make it again. So, Mitchell pulled up to the awards show in an absolute statement.
This follows from Mitchell wearing a sweater that featured the dictionary definition of ‘rookie’ back in April...
...which even led to Boston Celtics fans taunting Simmons in the playoffs with a “not a rookie” chant!
Blake Griffin won the Rookie of the Year in 2011 after missing all of the previous season with an injury, so there is precedent for Simmons’ situation. He has the advantage over Mitchell of time spent with an NBA team, learning and training around pro-level infrastructure for longer, but, you know, it isn’t that weird.
But, with how close this award race is between Simmons, who nearly averaged a triple-double, and Mitchell, who averaged over 20 points per game, you can bet that Mitchell fans will be calling foul on a technicality if Simmons wins. Setting the feud aside, it really has been a treat to watch these two put on fantastic rookie campaigns. We’ll see who comes out on top tonight.
h/t Twitter/utahjazz
