Utah Jazz: Does Donovan Mitchell now have the edge in ROY race?

The Rookie of the Year race has become a heated competition between Donovan Mitchell of the Utah Jazz and the Philadelphia 76ers’ Ben Simmons.

The Utah Jazz have not had a player win Rookie of the Year honors since 1981. That was 37 years ago. Lucky for Jazz fans, one of the main reasons for that drought has been continued long-term success. Very rarely has the team drafted a player high enough that you would expect them to be an immediate contributor.

The winner in 1981 was one Darrell Griffith. As a 22-year-old rookie, Griffith averaged 20.6 points per game. He scored over 20 points an impressive 50 times that season, including nine games over 30 points.

There are many comparisons to Griffith and current Jazz Rookie of the Year hopeful, Donovan Mitchell. They are both University of Louisville alums, and both are listed around 6-foot-3. Mitchell is averaging 19.6 points per game, to go along with 3.5 assist and rebounds. He has scored over 20 points 28 times, including four games over 30 points, and even has two games over 40 points — something Griffith never accomplished.

One of the biggest differences between the two, though, is their team’s record. Griffith won the ROY award with his team going 28-52. On the flip side, Mitchell is the leading scorer for a team on a path to the playoffs.

By the end of November, it seemed like a foregone conclusion that Ben Simmons was going to win Rookie of the Year honors. That narrative has now changed.

Since then, Mitchell has slowly been gaining steam, while Simmons has somewhat tailed off. Mitchell has continued to expand his game, and won Rookie of the Month honors in December and January. His February numbers should get him the award for a third consecutive month.

In order for Mitchell to take over the lead in the Rookie of the Year race, he needs to accomplish a few things. Luckily, over All-star Weekend, he has already checked off one item from the list.