One of the many things the NBA world talks about when there are no games being played on the court is the annual awards the players earn. One of those awards in particular seemed to get some additional attention this season, as Utah’s Donovan Mitchell and Philadelphia’s Ben Simmons each ran their own compelling Rookie of the Year campaigns.
The fighting was intense, and sometimes sponsored, but the argument was clear: Simmons wasn’t a “true” rookie because he was drafted last season, even though he didn’t play his “true” rookie year because of injury. Seemingly everyone tried to weigh in on the issue, but Simmons held firm in his belief that he’s a rookie because, well, he is, by the official definition of the award’s rules.
And according to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the parameters for the Rookie of the Year award will not be altered because of this debate.
Silver spoke to ESPN’s Chris Hayes and said there are “no plans” to change the award’s rules.
“There are no plans to change it,” Silver said. “We’ve had that rule in place for some time. If we were to change the rule, we wouldn’t do it midseason. We would at least wait until the winner of the award is announced. But there have not been any discussions about changing the rule.”
It’s important to note that the league has considered actually making changes to the rule according to a source.
A league source told ESPN that the NBA might be interested in adopting a rookie designation similar to that of Major League Baseball, where if a player competes in minimal games his rookie season due to injury, he would qualify for Rookie of the Year the next season.
However, Silver said he hasn’t had any conversations about that.
“I’m always open for suggestions,” he said, “but I don’t see anything happening there.”
Even considering a change here is a sign the debate over the rules was valid. But the NBA is sticking to what it’s considered a rookie in the past. Silver said the debate “was all fun” but that the league isn’t actually considering changes to the rule anytime soon.
