Ben Simmons beats out Donovan Mitchell for Rookie of the Year

Donovan Mitchell’s quest to win the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award came to an end Monday night when the league handed the honor to LSU legend and current Philadelphia 76er Ben Simmons.

Mitchell led all rookies in scoring this season at 20.5 points points per game to go along with 3.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 2.4 threes a game. Simmons averaged 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game in his first (healthy) season as a professional.

Donovan — who arrived at the awards ceremony Monday night in an interesting ride — made it a point to get up and show respect to Simmons before he accepted his award.

While Mitchell was predictably gracious in defeat, my heart is with the saltiness that was prevalent at his friends and family table.

Beautiful.

At least Mitchell’s peers know what’s up.