With the regular season finally coming to an end the NBA now has to decide who deserves one of the most coveted awards for first/second year players, notice how I added the second year. The 2017 NBA Draft Class has the potential to be one of the more stacked classes with players showcasing tremendous potential such as Kyle Kuzma, Lauri Markkanen, Lonzo Ball, Jayson Tatum, and so many more.

With this in mind, there are only two people front-running for the award and spoiler alert, one of them isn’t even from this draft class. So as you may have guessed Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell have complete control over this award race and in my opinion, these are the only two you can consider.

To provide insight as to why these two are the clear favorites we have to look at what they accomplished in their “first” year in the NBA, the quotes will be explained later. Donovan Mitchell was overlooked by 12 NBA teams and fell to the Utah Jazz at pick 13. Initially, there were no insane expectations as to what Mitchell could become.

However, Donovan Mitchell shocked the league with his explosive athleticism, knock-down shooting, and play-making ability. At the All-Star Break, he even claimed the title as 2018 Slam Dunk Contest Champion. In 33.4 minutes he was able to post averages of 20.5 PPG, 3.7 AST, and 3.7 RPG. He also had a 3PT % of 34, a FG % of 44, a player efficiency rating of 16.87, and a smooth free throw percentage of 80.8.

Simply looking at the stats, however, does not provide you with context as to why he’s so special. After the departure of Gordon Hayward to the Celtics, the Jazz needed a new go-to scoring option and that’s what Mitchell became. At the young age of 21, he was given the keys to lead the Jazz to glory in the western conference which possesses teams such as Golden State, Houston Rockets, and San Antonio Spurs, which is a difficult task, to say the least.

Nevertheless, Mitchell lead his team to the #5 seed with an overall record of 48-34, and to add the cherry on top he even broke Damian Lillard’s record for most 3 pointers in a season by a rookie. He would already have the trophy in his possession if it were not for the existence of- yep, you guessed it, Ben Simmons.

Ben Simmons is also making history posting a unique stat line of 15.9 PPG, 8.2 AST, 8.2 RPG on 54.7% shooting, all in 34 minutes. While Ben Simmons jump shot is non-existent he still remains special considering he is 6’10 and running the offense with a passing vision most point guards would dream of. Not to mention he has recorded 12 triple doubles in the season. I’d also like to toss in the fact that he’s 21 years old!

Looking beyond stats will also provide you with more context as to why Ben Simmons is not only a rookie of the year candidate but a solidified franchise player. Ben Simmons alongside Joel Embiid lead the Sixers to the 3rd seed in the East, granted it’s not as impressive as doing it in the west but still amazing when you consider this team finished last year with a record of 28-54 and have managed to revitalize a franchise by improving said record to 52-30, almost completely turning it around.

The contribution of Ben Simmons has aided the Philadelphia 76ers in ending their 6-year playoff drought and now Philly is expected to make some noise in the playoffs due to the Sixers ending their season on a 16 win streak, I mention this because throughout this 16 game win streak Ben Simmons averaged a triple-double! If that alone doesn’t solidify his case for Rookie of the Year than I don’t know what will. Would it help if I said Ben Simmons is only the second person to record 1,200 points, 600 Assists, and 600 rebounds?

Ben Simmons is my pick for this year’s Rookie of the Year Award. Although Donovan Mitchell is paving his way to an All-Star career Ben Simmons is looking to create a space for himself in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Not to say Donovan Mitchell won’t get there but Ben Simmons is in a league of his own right now.

The technicality that people use in defense of Mitchell is that he is a “true” rookie because Ben Simmons sat out his initial draft year due to injury and as a result was able to train at an NBA level for a year, giving him an unfair advantage over Mitchell. The only issue with that is the NBA defines a rookie as someone who has never played in an NBA game which Simmons has not until this year. Given that this award is granted by the NBA we have no choice but to follow their definitions, so the rookie argument is essentially not valid.

All in all, Ben Simmons trumps Donovan Mitchell in every category except scoring. One thing that should be mentioned in fairness is that both of these players have vastly different play styles making it that much harder to compare the two. Ben Simmons is a playmaker who generates offense through his high basketball IQ and physicality, Donovan Mitchell is a playmaker who generates his offense through his dead-eye accuracy and his ability to create space between his defenders.

Due to their difference in play style it should be mentioned that the NBA could name Simmons and Mitchell Co-Rookies of the Year as it has happened before in the 1999-00 season with Steve Francis and Elton Brand. However, I believe it will be a situation similar to 2011, where Blake Griffin claimed the award in his dominant second year being out the first due to injury despite John Wall posting a borderline All-Star stat line in his first year. Now doesn’t that sound familiar? Oh, irony.