The race for the NBA Rookie of the Year seems to be down to two real contenders, Philadelphia 76ers forward Ben Simmons and Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell.
There has been a debate about Simmons if he should really get it as he was around the NBA last year, even though he was injured, and there are others who say he is having a better season and since this is his first year playing it shouldn't matter.
For Al Horford though, he thinks there is a Boston Celtics player who should get his name thrown into the mix, Jayson Tatum, per Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe.
“In my eyes that’s the rookie of the year, but that’s just me.”
“He’s not playing on a team that’s not going anywhere. We’re going to the playoffs and he’s a big part of it and a big reason for our success is because of him and Jaylen, both of them being able to come along so quickly.”
For Tatum, he has been a huge part of the Celtics' success especially with Kyrie Irving out. He has had to take on a bigger scoring role lately and has helped keep the Celtics in that second spot in the Eastern Conference.
He has played in 74 games averaging 13.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.5 assists per contest. He is shooting 47.8 percent from the field, and a very impressive 42.6 percent from deep.
For Tatum, the most impressive part of his game is the many different ways he can score. He can shoot from deep, he can take opponents off the dribble and he even has a couple of post moves to boot.
Although it's still a long shot that Tatum wins the award, the longer he plays well in Irving's absence, the better the chance it could actually happen.
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