Mavs' Cooper Flagg Wins ROTY; Edges Knueppel In One Of The Closest Races Ever

Last Updated:April 28, 2026, 07:50 IST

Cooper Flagg wins 2025/26 NBA Rookie of the Year in a heated race over Kon Knueppel, capping a historic debut season.

It was close — really close — but Cooper Flagg had the edge where it counted.

The Dallas Mavericks forward is now the 2025/26 NBA Rookie of the Year, narrowly beating former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets.

It’s the first time two players from the same college program have finished first and second in ROTY voting.

A Historic Season For Flagg

Flagg’s case was built on across-the-board production.

He now joins Michael Jordan as the only rookies to lead their team in total points, rebounds, assists, and steals since steals were first tracked in 1973–74. He’s also the second-youngest winner of the award, behind LeBron James.

Selected No. 1 overall, Flagg stepped into a shifting Dallas roster and quickly took on a central role.

A 50-point performance, followed by a 45-point game, made him the first rookie since Allen Iverson to post consecutive 40-point outings. He finished with three 45-point games (the most by a rookie since Jordan) and became the youngest player (and first teenager) to score 50 in a game.

With the Mavericks moving on from Anthony Davis and losing Kyrie Irving to injury, Flagg’s responsibilities increased early. He closed the season averaging 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game, shooting 46.8% from the field.

Still, the margin was thin, and that’s largely because of Knueppel.

Knueppel No Pushover

Flagg received 56 of 100 first-place votes; Knueppel earned the other 44, making it the second-closest ROTY finish in league history.

Knueppel’s impact came from the perimeter. Having established himself as one of the best sharpshooters, Kon led the league in three-pointers made and broke the Hornets’ single-season franchise record, previously held by Kemba Walker.

His 273 threes on 42.5% shooting set a new rookie benchmark and etched history, as Kon became the first rookie to lead the league in made threes in a season.

He also became the youngest player to reach 250 made threes in a season and the fastest in NBA history to 200 career threes. Alongside that, he averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists. That places him with Larry Bird and Paul Pierce as the only rookies to average at least 15 points and five rebounds while shooting above 40% from three.

In many seasons, that profile is enough to win the award. This time, it wasn’t.

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