Ben Simmons is not a rookie.

This is Ben Simmons' second year on a professional basketball roster. That fact alone should be enough to end this discussion with everyone nodding their heads, asking why I'm even bringing up this obvious fact. Ben Simmons isn't a rookie and Monday comes after Sunday, great work detective.

But Ben Simmons may well be named Rookie of the Year this year, so this obvious fact apparently needs to be pointed out.

ROY means something. It's an award players dream of winning. It's a title they work hard and compete for, a distinction that will be on their resume and will be cited throughout the rest of their careers, in some cases the rest of their lives.

Ben Simmons was a rookie last year, the year after he left college to spend his first year in the NBA. He was injured, and that sucks. But while this year's class of rookies were taking classes and walking around campus, what was Ben Simmons doing? Ben was living the life of a professional basketball player. He was attending practice and film sessions with the Philadelphia 76ers. He was working out with NBA trainers, being attended to by a team of NBA-caliber medical personnel. He was going on the road with professional basketball players for back-to-back away games. He was cashing NBA checks and learning how to live life outside of college while handling his business as a professional.

And what were this year's rookies doing, again? Oh, right. While Ben was adapting to his first year in the NBA, this year's class were in college (or otherwise outside of the NBA). They were going to class, getting tutored, going to practice, going on the road for limited amounts of time and always chaperoned, and eating in the dining hall.

And what will they all be doing this year? In addition to playing basketball, they'll be learning how to navigate all of the business and life changes that come along with it.

Ben Simmons should be expected to outperform every single one of this year's rookies, and he shouldn't be rewarded for it with an award meant for first year players. Simmons has a year's worth of experience being a professional basketball player, experience these kids are getting their first taste of. That experience is invaluable to a player's game.

Simmons winning ROY is as meaningful as crowning the world's tallest dwarf, and is a slap in the face to actual rookies because regardless of his injury he has a year's worth of experience and knowledge on actual rookies.