Brown on Simmons: “He’s the stone cold Rookie of the Year”

By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 

In the year of one of the more competitive Rookie of the Year races, there are groups of people who believe Ben Simmons will be given the award for the NBA's best first-year player. But then there are some who believe Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz will get the award.

The debate was even broken down by Sports Talk Philly's Brandon Apter and TheJNotes.com's Jared Woodcox on the Pick Swap Pod this past week.

But you can never discount the people who have your back when it comes to the way you play the game.

Ben Simmons has had one heck of a rookie season for the Sixers this year, and his performance is a main reason for the Sixers being on the brink of their first playoff appearance since 2012, and their first official winning campaign since 2004-05.

Head Coach Brett Brown talked to reporters following the Sixers' 120-108 romp over the Timberwolves at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night, and praised his point guard.

Brett Brown on Ben Simmons: "He is the stone cold rookie of the year."

— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoNBCS) March 25, 2018

While Mitchell's game has revolved around scoring and multiple 30-point games, Simmons' game has involved a hefty amount of triple-doubles, 10 in fact, and a ton of stat-sheet filling.

The scoring aspect of Mitchell's game is often perceived as a "sexy" stat, which will definitely attract voters to putting his name in the hat for the award, but the basketball experts will also put great consideration in for the complete dominance Simmons has had this season in all aspects.

His consistency throughout the year, and doing things that haven't been done in a long time in Philadelphia led Simmons to agree with Brown's comments on why he should be the Rookie of the Year for the 2017-18 season.

Ben Simmons agrees with Brett Brown on his rookie of the year opinion: pic.twitter.com/decjvYGxe2

— Jessica Camerato (@JCameratoNBCS) March 25, 2018

Simmons is already second in NBA history for triple-doubles as a rookie with 10, passing Magic Johnson (7) just over a week ago. He's third in the league this season behind only LeBron James (16) and Russell Westbrook (23).