2025-11-15 14:01

I still remember the buzz surrounding the 2018 NBA draft class like it was yesterday. As someone who's followed basketball religiously since my teenage years, I've seen many promising rookies come and go, but this particular group felt special from the start. The race for Rookie of the Year that season wasn't just about stats—it was about two phenomenal players who were rewriting the rulebook for what first-year players could achieve. Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell weren't just playing basketball; they were creating moments that would be talked about for years to come.

When the announcement finally came, Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers took home the honor, but the story was far more complex than just one name on a trophy. What made this particularly fascinating was that Simmons had actually been drafted in 2016 but missed his entire first season due to injury. This technicality created one of the most heated debates in recent NBA memory—was he truly a rookie? I've always fallen on the side that if you haven't played an NBA game, you're a rookie, but man, did that opinion get me into some heated arguments at sports bars! Simmons put up numbers we hadn't seen from a first-year player in decades—averaging 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 8.2 assists per game. The last rookie to even come close to those all-around numbers was Magic Johnson, and that tells you everything you need to know about the caliber of player we were witnessing.

Meanwhile, Donovan Mitchell was having what in any other year would have been a clear Rookie of the Year season. The Utah Jazz guard exploded onto the scene with a scoring prowess that left veterans shaking their heads in disbelief. I'll never forget watching him drop 41 points against New Orleans that March—the way he moved to the basket with such controlled chaos reminded me of a young Dwyane Wade. Mitchell finished the season averaging 20.5 points per game, becoming only the third rookie in the last decade to break the 20-point barrier. What made their rivalry so compelling was how differently they approached the game—Simmons was this 6'10" point guard who saw passing lanes nobody else could, while Mitchell was an explosive scorer who could take over games in the blink of an eye.

The competition between them reminded me of those two exciting games at Ynares Center in Antipolo I read about recently—where both teams displayed such different styles yet created equally thrilling basketball. In one game, you had methodical, strategic plays that built momentum gradually, much like how Simmons would patiently dissect defenses. In the other, explosive runs and dramatic momentum shifts mirrored Mitchell's ability to single-handedly change a game's complexion within minutes. Both approaches were valid, both were effective, and both kept fans on the edge of their seats throughout the season.

What often gets overlooked in the Simmons-Mitchell narrative is how they pushed each other to greater heights. I firmly believe neither would have been as successful without the other setting such an incredibly high bar. Every time Simmons recorded a triple-double, Mitchell would answer with a 30-point game. When Mitchell led the Jazz on an unexpected playoff run, Simmons elevated his game to ensure the Sixers wouldn't be overshadowed. This wasn't just Rookie of the Year competition—this was the beginning of what could become one of the great career rivalries in modern basketball.

The voting results reflected how divided opinions were on this race. Simmons received 90 first-place votes to Mitchell's 11, but if you looked at social media or talked to fans around the league, the split felt much closer. Personally, I would have given the edge to Simmons simply because of his historical significance—no rookie had averaged 15-8-8 since Oscar Robertson, and that kind of all-around impact is rarer than scoring. But I completely understand why many argued for Mitchell, especially considering he was the undisputed best player on a playoff team.

Looking back, what made the 2018 Rookie of the Year race so memorable wasn't just the individual brilliance, but how it represented a changing of the guard in the NBA. Here were two young players, neither of whom fit traditional positional molds, redefining what was possible for their generation. Simmons as a giant point guard who could defend all five positions, Mitchell as an undersized two-guard with limitless range and athleticism—they embodied the positionless basketball revolution that has since taken over the league. The debates might have been heated, but we were all winners getting to witness basketball history in the making.

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