Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons was met with boos during Thursday's road game against the Utah Jazz, with their fans still unhappy that he beat out Donovan Mitchell for the 2018 Rookie of the Year award.

You may recall that Simmons ran away with the award after earning 90 of a possible 101 votes - having averaged 15.8 points, 8.1 rebounds and 8.2 assists per game. Once again, Simmons wanted to remind fans and pundits that there wasn't much of a race for the award between he and Mitchell.

Per ESPN's Tim MacMahon, Simmons gave a short and not-so-sweet answer to a Jazz reporter who brought up the top rookie race.

"It wasn't a (expletive) race," Simmons said after the game. "Did you see the votes?"

Simmons silenced the Utah crowd with a strong performance on Thursday, finishing with 13 points, 14 rebounds and 12 assists on the night. Philly escaped with a 114-97 victory to rebound from a frustrating Christmas loss to the Boston Celtics.

Mitchell actually put up more points per game last season than Simmons did (20.5), but less assists and rebounds at 3.7 each. Both rookies were instrumental in helping their respective teams reach the second round of the postseason as well.

RELATED: 76ERS & CELTICS RIVALRY ISN'T REAL, SAYS JOEL EMBIID

Credit: Russ Isabella-USA TODAY Sports

But ultimately, it was Simmons who won the award. Had he not missed his entire 2016-17 season with an injury, Simmons would have been ineligible to win it - meaning Mitchell could have ran away with it instead.

Both Simmons and Mitchell have continued to produce at higher levels in their sophomore years, but the Jazz are struggling and quickly falling out of the playoff race. Utah will need their star sophomore to help them pull off another hot second half to get into the postseason - kind of like what they did last year.

What This Means

Simmons ultimately ran away with the award, and the votes go to show that it wasn't a race. Nonetheless, his next trip to Utah shouldn't receive as many boos - now that disgruntled Jazz fans got everything off their chests.

NEXT: NBA PLAYERS WHO DIDN'T LIVE UP TO THEIR HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE HYPE (AND ONES WHO DID)