NBA: In-Depth Cases For the Top 3 Candidates

#2 He's shouldering a bigger load than every other rookie

How many other rookies became the primary scoring option for their teams within their first few weeks in the league? On a historical basis, you could perhaps argue that there are many. But over the course of this century, the only ones who spring to mind are LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Blake Griffin, Kyrie Irving and Damian Lillard.

You know what's the common factor among all these players? It doesn't take much time to figure out that all the aforementioned players were runaway Rookie of the Year winners in their respective rookie seasons.

The Utah Jazz has missed the volume scoring of Gordon Hayward, who signed with the Boston Celtics in the offseason. While they do have a working wing rotation to play a league-average offense, they don't have any featured scorer whom they can trust during clutch time.If Rudy Gobert is the Jazz's defensive anchor, Donovan Mitchell is the offensive lifeline who has led the Jazz to an eminently respectable 44-33 record.