Sporting News NBA Rookie of the Year: Kon Knueppel wins over Cooper Flagg in talented class
Kon Knueppel is Sporting News' 2026 NBA Rookie of the Year, beating out his former Duke teammate Cooper Flagg and a host of other special young hoopers.
Sporting News NBA Rookie of the Year: Kon Knueppel wins over Cooper Flagg in talented class originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . The 2025 NBA Draft class was hyped up as a strong one, and it certainly lived up to expectations in a major way.
The top four rookies, who I would classify as Kon Knueppel, Cooper Flagg, VJ Edgecombe, and Dylan Harper, are all better than anyone from the 2024 draft. Harper and Edgecombe have put together excellent seasons in their own right, but the race for Rookie of the Year really comes down to the two former Duke teammates. Flagg was supposed to be a generational pick.
He lived up to his billing as the No. 1 selection, putting together a great season highlighted by some massive scoring and all-around outbursts down the stretch. Knueppel ended up being a steal at No.
4 overall, with the thought that he could contribute immediately with his shooting on a Hornets team that certainly loves to let it fly. And let it fly - he certainly did. Again and again and again.
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