Donovan Mitchell responds immediately to Boston's 'not a rookie' chant aimed at Ben Simmons
Donovan Mitchell and Ben Simmons have fully embraced the art of the NBA social media beef.
The two Rookie of the Year candidates have gone back and forth touting their bonafides for who is the NBA’s best first-year player.
Simmons points to his stats and the success of the Philadelphia 76ers as his claim to the award.
Mitchell, meanwhile, points out that Simmons was drafted to play last year when an injury ended his season before it started, and is technically not a rookie. If he’s not a rookie, he’s not eligible for the award. It’s an odd approach and seems a tacit admission that he acknowledges that Simmons is actually the better player, but whatever.
Boston Celtics fans grabbed on to Mitchell’s argument during Monday’s Game against Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference semifinals, taunting the young 76ers star with chants of “not a rookie.”
#Celtics fans chant 'NOT A ROOKIE' at Ben Simmons pic.twitter.com/RjQak98p0w
— Def Pen Hoops (@DefPenHoops) May 1, 2018
Like with Mitchell, it’s kind of an odd dis and seems to imply that Celtics fans can’t find any other fault with the transcendent young player to chide him about. Of course, that makes sense too. Simmons is really good.
Mitchell, on a night off from the Utah Jazz’s playoff series against the Houston Rockets, was apparently enjoying time as a fan and chimed in on Twitter almost immediately when the Celtics fans unleashed their chant.
— Donovan Mitchell (@spidadmitchell) May 1, 2018
This is today’s NBA.
More from Yahoo Sports:
• Racial slurs mar youth baseball game in Chicago
• Cardinals ‘shocked and saddened’ by fatal shooting near stadium
• Brady all but ends retirement speculation at global event
• Jeff Passan: How 7 teams personify baseball’s ugly problem
