A few months ago, it seemed virtually unthinkable that Luka Doncic would not be the 2018-19 NBA Rookie of the Year. The 20-year-old from Slovenia enjoyed a phenomenal start to the season and, with the Dallas Mavericks playing well, the consensus was that Doncic would run away with the award voting at the conclusion of the campaign.
Since then, however, Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has closed the gap considerably with stellar play and, while Doncic is still considered the favorite to win the honor, there is a widespread discussion happening as to which first-year standout should claim the hardware. To that end, 2017-18 Rookie of the Year Ben Simmons was prompted about his thoughts on the race and he shared his viewpoint while declaring Doncic the winner.
#Sixers PG Ben Simmons said he would vote for #Mavs G Luka Doncic for NBA rookie before explaining why: pic.twitter.com/HShEKi1bt6
— Keith Pompey (@PompeyOnSixers) April 1, 2019
Ben Simmons on his choice for ROY: "Luka. For sure." Why? "Same reason as last year. He’s playing better, his team’s winning more games. Trae Young is killin' it. Same as Donovan. But it's just, overall, I think Luka's team has played a little better."
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) April 1, 2019
For the most part, Young and Doncic have been complimentary to one another throughout the race. With the exception of some of their die-hard fans, the all-out mania hasn’t set in with regard to the award pursuit in the way that it did with Simmons and Donovan Mitchell last season. Still, Simmons will undoubtedly catch some heat in some corners for this stance, especially with the recent downturn of the Mavericks compared to the upward mobility of the Hawks (keyed by Young’s offensive explosiveness) during the season’s stretch run.
Nets guard D’Angelo Russell recently promoted the idea of co-winners and, even if that isn’t particularly realistic in the current voting climate, he isn’t alone in seeing that as a potential solution. In some ways, Simmons is taking the “safe” route in picking the player with the more consistent track record but Young isn’t fading away and the discussion will be ongoing until the award is (finally) delivered in June.
