Simmons leads rookie race

With nine days left in the NBA regular season, playoff seeding in both conferences is still very much up for grabs. The Rookie of the Year race, however, is over.

Australian Ben Simmons, of the Philadelphia

76ers, and Donovan Mitchell, of the Utah Jazz, have been jockeying for top rookie honours all season. Simmons received most of the attention early on before Mitchell surged in the middle of the campaign.

Both 21-year-olds have assumed leadership on their teams, both are guiding teams to unexpected play-off berths and both appear in nightly highlights packages.

But over the last several weeks, Simmons has elevated his game to a level not seen from a rookie since perhaps Magic Johnson, nearly 40 years ago.

‘‘It’s getting a lot easier reading the plays and how guys will play with me and how they cut, where they want to get their shots from,’’ Simmons said after collecting 20 points, 15 assists and eight rebounds in Monday’s win at Charlotte.

The 76ers (46-30) have won 21 of their last 26 games, including 10 in a row during which Simmons is averaging a triple-double – 13.2 points, 11.8 assists and

10.1 rebounds – while shooting 57 per cent from the field.

In the last nine games, the Sixers have eclipsed 30 assists, the fourth-longest streak in NBA history.