Sporting News NBA Rookie of the Year: Kon Knueppel wins over Cooper Flagg in talented class

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Kon Knueppel is Sporting News' Rookie of the Year

Flagg did have some brilliant moments, and ended up averaging 29 points in the last month of the season. That stretch included a 51-point explosion against the Magic, followed by 45 against the Lakers. The consistency over the entire season simply wasn't there, though. It took Flagg a long time to get adjusted to a very difficult role as the Mavericks' primary creator on a team that really wasn't trying to win.

While Flagg was at his best near the finish line, Knueppel slumped. Recency bias will hurt him with a lot of voters of the NBA's award, who are not supposed to consider his disappearances in two Play-In Tournament games but will probably do so anyway.

Knueppel built up such a big lead in the early and middle portions of the season though that he still put up the better season over Flagg. Knueppel played a winning role for a playoff team. Flagg was the best player on one of the worst teams in the league.

Flagg did score more, but he did so much less efficiently. He was forced to take a lot of shots on a bad offense with weak guard play. His 3-point shooting took a nosedive from how he performed at Duke. He certainly didn't have it easy, but he had a lot of opportunities to pile up stats.

Knueppel played a more important role for a Hornets team that won 18 more games, and he also played a lot more minutes. He was a key reason why the Hornets were able to improve by a stunning 25 wins from last season's bottom-feeders.

Efficiency is where Knueppel wins this award. Forget rookies, he was one of the best shooters in the league bar none. He finished ninth in the NBA in 3-point percentage and was also deadly from midrange and on drives.

While Flagg had a fairly average shooting season for a Rookie of the Year winner, Knueppel was in a league of his own, putting together a historically efficient debut.

The advanced stats paint an even starker picture. Flagg had a good year. Knueppel had a winning one, where his impact changed the dynamics of his team.

The fact that Knueppel was better than Flagg as a rookie shouldn't come as that much of a surprise. Knueppel is 16 months older and should be farther along in his development. Flagg was the youngest player in the league this season. It makes sense that he has more room to grow.

Flagg did have some big edges in this race. He was the better defender, but not by as much as some would have thought. Knueppel held his own on that end of the floor. Flagg was also the better passer, but again that was not by as much as what we would have expected coming into the year.

Knueppel had an unusually great rookie season, and he deserves to be recognized for how special it was. Flagg will get plenty of hardware down the line. This one goes to Kon.

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