Despite all the memes of Ben Simmons not being a legitimate rookie of the year winner, the 76ers star knows what it's like to win such a coveted award. This year, there seems to be two clear cut rookie of the year candidates. Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks have been dazzling the league with their play so far and pundits have gone back and forth on who is the more deserving player. Simmons was asked by reporters which of these players he thinks should win and his answer was pretty clear.
"Luka. For sure." Why? "Same reason as last year. He’s playing better, his team’s winning more games," Simmons explained. "Trae Young is killin' it. Same as Donovan. But it's just, overall, I think Luka's team has played a little better."
To be fair, both the Mavericks and the Hawks are near the bottom of their respective divisions. The Mavs are 31-46 and are ranked 14th in the Western Conference while the Hawks are 12th in the East with a record of 28-49.
Simmons seems pretty consistent with this opinion though as he echoed the exact same sentiments during the All-Star break.
Either way, Simmons has much bigger things to worry about as his team is one of the favorites in the East heading into the playoffs.