The battle for the Rookie of the Year award has been one of this season's biggest talking points and continues to divide opinion.The award is a two-horse race between Philadelphia 76ers star Ben Simmons and Utah Jazz sensation Donovan Mitchell.Throughout the campaign, there has been an ongoing debate about whether Simmons should be eligible for the honour as he's in his second year in the league.The Aussie, however, didn't play a single minute last season due to injury and is technically still a rookie as he's only taken to the court for the first time this year.But the argument from those claiming that Simmons shouldn't be eligible focuses on the fact that he had the benefit of getting adjusted to NBA life for 12 months and was able to work with elite coaches.Mitchell, on the other hand, is a traditional rookie who came straight from college and is lighting up the league instantly with no experience.He even trolled his rival by wearing a hoodie with the dictionary description of the word rookie.

The Jazz guard took exception to the Sixers man saying that he should "100 percent" win the award and that no other first-year player has impressed him.

He has since taken every opportunity to troll the 22-year-old Sixers point guard and spark their rivalry.

During Philadelphia's 117-101 loss to the Boston Celtics in game one of their second-round series on Monday night, Mitchell was presented with another chance to do so and he wasn't going to pass it up.

When Simmons stepped up to the free-throw line in the second half, the Celtics fans inside TD Garden taunted him with chants of "not a rookie".

Mitchell immediately took to Twitter to show his pleasure at what he was hearing.

But Simmons has shown throughout the season that he's a cool customer and insisted that it didn't bother him.

"I don't care. It doesn't affect me at all," he said, per ESPN's Chris Forsberg.

When Jayson Tatum went to the line, Boston fans hilariously serenaded him with "he's a rookie" chants.

The small forward may not be in the running for ROY but he once again showed why he's one of the best players from his draft class with another impressive performance.

He scored a career-high 28 points in 40 minutes for the injury-hit Celtics and outperformed Simmons on the night.

Regardless of who wins the award, it's clear to see that the NBA is in great hands for the future with some truly great talent on display.

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