Simmons says he's doing something this season that not many have ever done
On a night when Donovan Mitchell offered a response to Ben Simmons' proclamation that he is the superior NBA Rookie of the Year candidate, Simmons doubled down on his stance.
"If you look at it ... what I have been doing isn't something many people in the league or have been in the league have ever done," Simmons told the Philadelphia Inquirer's Keith Pompey before the 76ers' game against the Atlanta Hawks.
On Monday, Simmons opined that "people who know the game" know he deserves top rookie honors.
While Mitchell leads all rookies in scoring, Simmons directly made note of the Utah Jazz guard's efficiency on Tuesday.
"If you are looking at scoring, it's a four-point difference or whatever the stat is," Simmons said. "But you also look at how many shots that person takes. That's a lot more shots."
Mitchell, "that person," has averaged 17.2 field-goal attempts per game this season. For Simmons, it's 12.4.
| FG% | PTS | REB | AST | STL | PER | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simmons | 54.7 | 16 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 1.7 | 20.2 |
| Mitchell | 43.8 | 20.5 | 3.7 | 3.7 | 1.5 | 16.6 |
Mitchell said Tuesday that he doesn't care about individual awards at the moment, although he then donned a sweater to the Warriors-Jazz game that defined the word "rookie."
Simmons was drafted with the No. 1 pick in the 2016 draft but sat out the entire 2016-17 season due to a broken foot.