Luka Doncic should handily and deservedly win the Rookie of the Year award in June. He’s a polished player in his first NBA season who’s creating highlights in essentially every game he plays. All the worries about whether his game would translate to the NBA were quite obviously misplaced. This kid is good and will be for a while.
But… Luka isn’t the typical rookie. Why isn’t he getting the same “
(All stats from Basketball-Reference unless otherwise noted)
Luka Doncic has played professionally since he was 16.
No, the Euro League isn’t as good as the NBA. But it’s widely regarded as the second-best basketball league in the world. Notable players from the Euro League include both Gasol brothers, the recently-retired Manu Ginobili, Nikola Jokic, Milos Teodosic, and plenty of others. These are professional teams with professional staffs – better than anything that a 16-year-old basketball player in America would have.
Not only was Luka Doncic surrounded by professionals from a young age, but he also faced off against NBA competition. In the 2015 preseason, as a member of Real Madrid, Luka Doncic played against the Boston Celtics. The next year, he played a preseason game against the Oklahoma City Thunder. Not
Why Wasn’t Ben A “Rookie?”
Simple: narratives. In 2017-18, everyone wanted to see one of the shiny “new” rookies from a talented draft class win the award. Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum, Lauri Markkanen, and Kyle Kuzma all had great individual seasons. Ben Simmons already seemed like old news to many fans.
Plus, everyone was developing a serious obsession over Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum, already comparing them to the next Dwyane Wade and Kobe Bryant, respectively. Mitchell led a Jazz team to the playoffs still reeling from Gordon Hayward’s departure to Boston. Tatum helped the Celtics reach the playoffs despite injuries to Hayward and Kyrie Irving.
Ben Simmons, averaging 15.8/8.1/8.2 as the second option on a 52-win team, simply didn’t satisfy fans. Yes, he had an extra year around NBA staff, but he was out due to an injury that kept him off the court for a while. I have no doubt that having an extra year around an NBA team is helpful to the development of a young player, but Simmons still fit the bill as a rookie and did deserve the Rookie of the Year award (sorry, Donovan Mitchell).
… And Why Is Luka Doncic A “Rookie?”
For most of this season, there’s been no challenger. Trae Young still had glaring flaws, and he had yet to find his shot. DeAndre Ayton has put up respectable stats (16.3/10.3/1.8), thus far, but isn’t flashy or on a competent NBA team. Marvin Bagley has had a nice impact on the upstart Kings (14.8/7.4/1.0) but has struggled through inconsistencies and injuries. Collin Sexton has been a good scorer (16.6/3.0/2.8) on the Cavs, but the Cavs’ season is about as unpalatable as the Suns’. Jaren Jackson Jr. can be the next franchise player of the Grizzlies but has missed significant time with injury.
Of course, there’s still more about Trae Young, who’s averaged 19.0/3.7/8.1 and has been on a tear since the All-Star break. But, his stats still aren’t quite Doncic’s, nor has he had Doncic’s consistency. Plus, the Hawks record is worse than the Mavericks’ (29-50 compared to 31-47). Trae Young hasn’t quite turned into the Donovan Mitchell to Doncic’s hypothetical Simmons (and is unlikely to do that over the four remaining games).
Since Luka Doncic is from this draft class, new to NBA fans, and with an exciting narrative and style of play, and without a true Donovan Mitchell-like competitor, most are willing to anoint him Rookie of the Year without a second thought. Even those who vehemently opposed Ben Simmons’ winning the award.
On a similar note…
Other players have missed their entire rookie season due to injury. The top pick of the 2009 draft, Blake Griffin, missed all of that year with an injury before returning to put up a monster rookie season (22.5/12.1/3.8) to win the Rookie of the Year award unanimously. However, due to no serious competition (John Wall a distant second), Blake Griffin doesn’t have the “not a rookie” narrative.
More recently, Joel Embiid wasn’t in his first NBA season when he finished third in the 2016-17 voting. Injury kept the 2014 third overall pick out of his first TWO seasons. He also didn’t receive “not a rookie” treatment as many wanted him to win simply because of the impact he had when he did play in his 31 games with a minutes restriction. That season, there was a lack of star rookies that year (apologies to Dario Saric and Malcolm Brogdon).
In Conclusion…
Any player in his first season in the NBA, if statistically deserving, should be in consideration for the Rookie of the Year award. Whether this player comes from overseas (like Luka Doncic), missed his first seasons due to injury, or spent time in the G-League previously, he should be in consideration for the Rookie of the Year award. I’m not trying to take anything away from Luka Doncic’s season. He should win Rookie of the Year, but don’t discredit a rookie like Ben Simmons because you’re bored of him. Recognize their talent, because they’ll only be in the league for so long.
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