Video: NBA Rookie of the Year frontrunnersLonzo Ball and Ben Simmons are both former MaxPreps POYs.
The
experts over at CBSSports.com weighed in with their predictions on NBA award winners for the 2017-18 season earlier this week.
One of the more compelling races might be for Rookie of the Year honors, where eight of the 10 panelists gave the nod to either
Ben Simmons of the Philadelphia 76ers or
Lonzo Ball of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Simmons and Ball were named MaxPreps National Player of the Year in back-to-back seasons in 2014-15 and 2015-16 after leading their respective high school programs to national titles.
Their names could be intertwined once again this season as they look to change the fortunes of the 76ers and Lakers.
The NBA season officially gets underway Tuesday night with a blockbuster doubleheader featuring new-look Boston taking on Cleveland and defending champion Golden State meeting Houston.