Cooper Flagg named NBA Rookie of the Year: Mavericks star edges Kon Knueppel

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Cooper Flagg is the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year, the league announced on Monday. Flagg's victory marks the end of one of the most contentious Rookie of the Year debates in recent history, with Flagg beating out his former college teammate, No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel, to secure the trophy.

Flagg, as the No. 1 overall pick who opened the season playing point guard for the Dallas Mavericks, was the initial favorite. However, a slow start and a poorly constructed roster hurt him in the season's opening months.

Knueppel's Hornets didn't exactly explode out of the gates either, opening the season with a 4-14 record that even included some LaMelo Ball trade rumblings. But once the Hornets settled in, they emerged as one of the biggest surprises of the season. Following that initial 18-game slump, the Hornets went 40-24 with the No. 3 offense and No. 5 net rating in basketball. They rebuilt their entire organizational identity around their shooting, with the three-headed perimeter monster of Ball, Knueppel and Brandon Miller proving almost unguardable for overwhelmed opponents.

Flagg, on the other hand, improved slowly over the course of the year, but missed 11 games between the middle of January and early March. The Mavericks traded Anthony Davis and seemingly began to prioritize draft position. With Knueppel thriving on a team in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff race, the odds suggested that he was a lock. But then Flagg took a major step down the stretch. He averaged over 25 points in his final 15 full games of the season while chipping in 6.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists. He scored 96 points in a historic two-game stand that reminded the entire basketball world just how special he's going to become.