NBA rookies favor Kris Dunn, Brandon Ingram over Ben Simmons for Rookie of the Year award

By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor

Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons, No. 1 overall pick in this year's draft, is projected by many to win Rookie of the Year, but his first-year classmates think otherwise.

The 2016 NBA preseason begins in less than a month and this year's draft has a handful of promising rookies looking to make a name for themselves in the NBA. Each year, NBA.com does Rookie Survey, where they as a number of players set to enter their first season and ask them various questions pertaining to their rookie classmates. 

NBA.com sat down with 38 rookies and 29 percent of them believe Kris Dunn, drafted No. 5 overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves, will take home the Rookie of the Year award. That would make three straight Rookie of the Year awards for T'Wolves first year players, with Andrew Wiggins winning two years ago and Karl-Anthony Towns  tabbed as the top rookie last season. Lakers' guard Brandon Ingram comes in second with 25.8 percent of the vots while Ben Simmons received 19.4 percent. Both Dario Saric and Joel Embiid received votes as well.

The rookies were also asked who they believe will have the best NBA career and Sixers forward Ben Simmons didn't even make it in the top three. Brandon Ingram led the voting with 26.7 percent, followed by Kris Dunn at 16.7 percent and Buddy Hield at 13.3 percent. Simmons found himself in a fourth place tie with Dragan Bender, Jaylen Brown and Jamal Murray. Dario Saric also received votes. Last season, Jahlil Okafor was projected by his rookie classmates to have to most successful career.

Simmons wasn't voted by his piers when it came to Most Athletic, but was shown in second place when it comes to which rookie is the Best Playmaker with 26.5 percent of votes, behind T'Wolves Kris Dunn, who received 29.4 percent.

The Philadelphia 76ers open their preseason schedule against the Boston Celtics on October 4 at the University of Massachusetts. It's the first that fans will likely get to see Joel Embiid and Dario Saric in Sixers uniforms after a long, two-year wait for both of them.

Go to top button