Why Cooper Flagg won NBA Rookie of the Year over college teammate Kon Knueppel in tight vote
Here's how a close NBA Rookie of the Year race ended.
Why Cooper Flagg won NBA Rookie of the Year over college teammate Kon Knueppel in tight vote originally appeared on The Sporting News . Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here . There is one true winner in the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year debate: Duke.
The Blue Devils produced the two contenders for the award, with No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg facing a major challenge from college teammate Kon Knueppel in the race to be crowned the NBA's top newcomer. Flagg showed flashes of stardom throughout his rookie season with the Dallas Mavericks , even as his team quickly played its way out of any playoff conversation.
Knueppel, meanwhile, had one of the best 3-point shooting seasons any rookie has had in NBA history, helping the Hornets win 44 games before missing the playoffs as well. It's hard to argue Flagg isn't on track to be the better all-around player, but Knueppel's shooting proficiency and the Hornets' success, at least in comparison to Dallas, made the race razor thin down the stretch. Here's a look at why Flagg was named Rookie of the Year over Knueppel.
MORE: Key stats to know in NBA Rookie of the Year debate Why Cooper Flagg won Rookie of the Year over Kon Knueppel The Mavericks' season didn't go according to plan, but voters who chose Flagg as their Rookie of the Year are saying they don't believe it was at all the fault of the No. 1 pick. That's an easy point to make, as Dallas got virtually nothing out of Anthony Davis before a midseason trade and Kyrie Irving never appeared in a game.