NBA roundup: Mavs' Cooper Flagg narrowly wins rookie of the year award

In the second-closest vote in the award's recent history, a 100-member global media panel selected Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg as the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year on Monday. Flagg, who earned the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy along with the honor, outpaced his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets 412-386. Flagg earned 56 first-place votes to Knueppel's 44.

"I see the games every night," Flagg said about monitoring Knueppel's results. "I can check the box scores. I think also I was watching Kon just because that's one of my brothers.

We had such a good connection, and we're gonna be there for each other for the rest of our lives. I was watching him as a fan as well, but there was obviously that competition at the same time. " Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe finished third with 96 points – receiving zero first-place votes and only one second-place vote – while San Antonio Spurs guard Dylan Harper (5) and Memphis Grizzlies forward Cedric Coward (1) were the only other players to receive votes.

The No. 1 overall selection in the 2026 NBA Draft lived up to all of the lofty expectations. Flagg led all qualifying rookies with 21.