2017-18 NBA Rookie of the Year ladder: Week 23 power rankings

2. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz

Last rank: 2nd (↔)

The Utah Jazz are on another winning streak, this time at nine games, and of course, rookie Donovan Mitchell is leading the charge. Mitchell is leading the team in scoring at 21.7 per contest while also putting up 4.7 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game during the winning streak.

The scoring part is good, but the real head-turner is Mitchell’s offensive and defensive ratings. He’s generating an offensive rating of 113.5 and a defensive rating of 90.3 with a net rating of +23.1 during March. In February, his offensive rating was 106.1, his defensive rating was 94.6 and his net rating was +11.5.

The elevated play of Mitchell on defense along with Rudy Gobert has gotten my attention. Granted, Mitchell isn’t putting together near triple-double performances, but becoming a two-way threat for the Jazz raises his profile for Rookie of the Year.

Mitchell and Utah are currently tied for fifth in the Western Conference. They began the month 31-30 and outside of the playoff picture, and now they’re right in the middle of it. Surpassing Ben Simmons will be a tall order, but Mitchell isn’t far from delivering with a handful of games left.