Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell are both having extraordinary rookie seasons.
They've each led their teams to places that few thought they could go at the beginning of the year, and have seem to be getting stronger as the season progresses.
Over the past few weeks, Simmons has established himself as the clear favorite in the Rookie of the Year race by willing his Sixers to seven straight wins without his superstar partner Joel Embiid, who's out with a facial injury.
Yesterday, Mitchell used a hoodie to point out that unlike Simmons -- who was drafted in 2016 but missed his first season with an injury -- he's the "definition" of a rookie.
Donovan Mitchell uses the dictionary definition of a rookie to respond to Ben Simmons 👀 pic.twitter.com/NhL9730xFF
— Sporting News (@sportingnews) April 10, 2018
"An athlete playing his or her first season as a member of a professional sports team," read the definition of rookie on his shirt.
Simmons reacted to the hoodie after his team beat the Hawks for their 15th straight win.
Here’s @BenSimmons25 assessing Mitchell after the game. Closed strong: “I’m not going to wear a sweatshirt tomorrow though.” pic.twitter.com/3vF4JFJOOR
— Kyle Neubeck (@KyleNeubeck) April 11, 2018
"If his argument is I'm not a rookie, and that's the only argument he has, I'm in pretty good shape. There's a rule in the NBA for a reason. I'm not going to wear a sweatshirt tomorrow though," Simmons said.
The actual Dictionary also weighed in, and they seem to be on the side of Simmons.
Let us know if you need the definition of "played" next, @BenSimmons25 and @spidadmitchell. #RookieOfTheYear https://t.co/XWOiPL5vow
— Dictionary.com (@Dictionarycom) April 11, 2018
What do you think?
— harold (@hnayy23) April 11, 2018