Both Luka Doncic of the Dallas Mavericks and Trae Young of the Atlanta Hawks deserve Rookie of the Year honors, so why not give it to both of them?
When the Atlanta Hawks traded Slovenian phenom Luka Doncic in favor of diminutive college dynamo Trae Young, many experts immediately crushed Atlanta for taking a risk when a more “sure thing” was available.
Luka had years of proven production in the EuroLeague and Young was just a flash in the pan college outlier whose talents wouldn’t necessarily translate to the NBA – or so the narrative went.
Now, as this season progresses, it has become clear that both players are exceptional talents. As such, they should both be named Rookies of the Year.
This move is not without precedent, as co-Rookies of the Year have been named three previous times in NBA history per Land Of Basketball.
Most recently in the 1999-00 season, Elton Brand and Steve Francis were both named Rookie of the Year. Francis was a highlight factory to start his career, and Brand was a consistent performer for much of his career (including later on with the Atlanta Hawks).
Prior to that in the 1994-95 season, Jason Kidd and Grant Hill were both given the Rookie of the Year award. As it turns out, both players were hugely influential and both have now been named to the Hall of Fame.
Lastly, in the 1970-71 season, Geoff Petrie and Dave Cowens were both awarded Rookie of the Year honors. Petrie is a fascinating “what if” player in NBA history, as he averaged 21.8 points, 4.6 assists and 2.8 rebounds over the course of his 6-year career, but his career was cut short after a knee injury and a trade to (who else) the Atlanta Hawks. Cowens, a Hall of Famer, was a dominant big man for the 70s Boston Celtics who accrued 8 All-Star appearances, 3 All-NBA appearances and an MVP in the 1972-73 season.