The NBA announced the rookies of the month on Friday, taking into account both October and November games. The choice was made between Ben Simmons (Eastern Conference) and Kyle Kuzma (Western Conference).
At Simmons, the election should come as no surprise to anyone. The shooting star of the Philadelphia 76ers led the rookies on points (18.6) as well as on rebounds (9.4) and steals (2.25), he shared the best score on assists (7.2). In addition, at 50.2 percent, it had the best field throw rate of all newcomers.
Simmons has already achieved two triple doubles in his first nine games, which was only achieved by the legendary Oscar Robertson before him.
His counterpart in the West was Kyle Kuzma of the Los Angeles Lakers. The No. 27 pick led the Western Conference’s rookies in scoring (16.7) and throwing rate (50.4) and was also their second-best rebounder (6.1) and third-best triple shot (37.9). Especially as a starter he blossomed and reached 18.1 points and 7.5 rebounds on average in eleven games.
Besides Simmons and Kuzma, Jayson Tatum (Celtics) and Donovan Mitchell (Jazz) were nominated for the awards. His 41-point game against the Pelicans, however, came one day “too late”to be evaluated.