Winning the Rookie of the Year honors would be a nice achievement for Utah Jazz first-year guard Donovan Mitchell, but he’s not going to sweat it if he does not take home the award. Reacting to Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons pronouncement that in his mind, he is “100 percent” this season’s Rookie of the Year, Mitchell told ESPN that he pays zero attention to his standing in the ROY race, per Chris Haynes.
“I really don't care,” Mitchell told ESPN. “The biggest thing for me is that we're in the fourth seed and fighting for the third seed. If I'm worrying about individual awards, I'm giving up on my teammates and what we're trying to build here. Clearly, I'm not the one losing sleep over this. I don't care.”
This quote also comes right around the time Mitchell arrived at Vivint Smart Home Arena Tuesday wearing a highly suggestive attire.
Article Continues BelowThis also shows a level of maturity the Jazz surely love seeing from the rookie out of Louisville. Then again, you could also say that there’s a hint of resentfulness in Mitchell’s statement. The current batch of rookies is considered by many as among the most talented and stacked in recent memory with Mitchell and Sixers guard Ben Simmons widely viewed as the top two in the group. This is also why it’s not entirely surprising to see some sort of rivalry develop between this pair of youngsters.
Mitchell and Simmons have both emerged as leaders of their respective teams, and with the Jazz and the Sixers headed to the playoffs, the debate of which rookie is having a better season is only going to be fiercer.