Rookie of the Year: Ben Simmons or Donovan Mitchell?

By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The age-old debate of the 2017-18 NBA season is finally here: Is the Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons or Donovan Mitchell?

Celtics F Jayson Tatum is the third finalist for the award to figure out who the best first-year player is, but the race is ultimately going to be decided between the Jazz's superstar and the Sixers' point guard.

All season long fans have been debating between who deserves the award more, Mitchell or Simmons.

Mitchell has had an incredible rookie season for the Utah Jazz, especially after leading scorer Gordon Hayward bolted for free agency. He averaged 20.5 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.5 steals, and 0.3 blocks in 79 games for Utah this season. He became the first rookie in NBA history to lead his team in scoring.

On April 10, Mitchell broke Damian Lillard's rookie record for 3-pointers made in a rookie season with 186.

Mitchell was named Western Conference Rookie of the Month four times this season, from December to March. After a season filled with new rookie marks and incredible team-leading abilities, the Jazz were completely blown away by the type of season their N0. 13 pick in 2017 was this year.

Ben Simmons missed an entire season due to a foot injury suffered in training camp before the start of the 2016-17 season. So, after a year out, his rookie season began in 2017-18.

Simmons had one of the greatest all-around rookie seasons in NBA history. He averaged 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, 8.2 assists, 1.7 steals, and 0.9 blocks in 81 games for the Sixers.

The former No. 1 overall pick passed Magic Johnson for the second-most triple-doubles in a season by a rookie and finished with 12 on the season. Simmons was third in that category in the NBA this season behind LeBron James (18) and Russell Westbrook (25). 

On April 3, Simmons became just the second player in NBA history to record 1,200 points, 600 assists, and 600 rebounds. The other player was Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.

Simmons led all rookies in double-doubles this season with 38, putting him in a tie for 11th among all NBA players.

Simmons helped lead the Sixers to their first playoff appearance since 2012, and their first playoff series win in that same amount of time. At 6-10, the things Simmons did on the court as a point guard is something that is unmatched in this period of time. Like Mitchell, Simmons was Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month four times in November and January-March.

Many people believe that Mitchell should beat out Simmons solely because this season was actually the year he was drafted. Simmons had an extra year of NBA preparation to play in the league this season. But, the NBA recognized Simmons as a rookie all season long, which puts him in a position to claim the award.

Mitchell has the scoring statistics, leading the Jazz to a No. 3 seed in the Western Conference in the process. Simmons has the all-around stats including triple-doubles and double-doubles which Mitchell failed to register in the regular season.

Whatever happens on Monday night, nothing will take away the historic season Simmons had for the Philadelphia 76ers this year. The amount of talent he showed all season long brightens the horizon for Sixers basketball for years to come.

Obviously, the Rookie of the Year doesn't always determine the quality of NBA career a player has. Last season, Joel Embiid and Dario Saric lost out to Malcolm Brogdon, and he didn't have nearly as productive of a 2017 season as Embiid and Saric did.

Mitchell and Simmons both did enough this year to make the case for Rookie of the Year, and there is no wrong choice when it's all said and done. It's up to the writers to decide who they believe the league's best rookie was for the 2017-18 season.

Predictions: Josh Liddick: Ben Simmons, Brandon Apter: Donovan Mitchell