Cooper Flagg, Johnson, Bailey Lead 2026 ROY Betting Odds After 2025 NBA Draft Round 1

Cooper Flagg is the favorite to be next season's Rookie of the Year, which for anybody who followed the 2024-25 college basketball will be about as surprising as a receiving a rude comment on a social media post.

According to FanDuel, Flagg (-180) is the prohibitive favorite to win the award, followed by Washington's Tre Johnson (+700), Utah's Ace Bailey (+750), San Antonio's Dylan Harper (+1200), Philly's VJ Edgecombe (+2500) and New Orlean's Derik Queen (+3000).

Flagg was the top overall pick for a reason—he was the AP Player of the Year, Wooden Award-winner, Naismith Award-winner, a consensus All-American, was on the NCAA All-Tourney team and was both the ACC Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year.

The dude is really good, and his all-around game means he should contribute immediately for the Mavericks.

Is there an argument for him not winning the NBA's Rookie of the Year though?

Well, while many of his rookie counterparts will be on rebuilding teams and will be thrown into the fire immediately, Flagg will have veteran teammates like Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson soaking up plenty of offensive looks (not to mention Kyrie Irving when he returns from a torn ACL). Flagg should contribute in all facets of the game, but his playmaking and defense may be more important to the Mavericks than his scoring next season, which could mute some of his stats.

Granted, many of the players on this list could face a similar fate.

Dylan Harper may not even start, with De'Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle already available in the backcourt, and Victor Wembanyama is the main man in San Antonio anyway. VJ Edgecombe may be the sixth or seventh offensive option in Philadelphia behind Joel Embiid, Paul George, Tyrese Maxey, Jared McCain and potentially players like Quentin Grimes and Guerschon Yabusele. Derik Queen may not even be the rookie on his team who gets the most offensive run (Jeremiah Fears was selected No. 7 overall), and Zion Williamson, Dejounte Murray, Jordan Poole and Trey Murphy III will certainly get more looks.

That's why Johnson and Bailey have stronger odds.

Johnson is going to a rebuilding Washington team that probably isn't done trading away veterans. He'll likely see serious run this upcoming season. And while Bailey will have Lauri Markkanen operating as the first option in Utah (assuming he isn't traded), the Jazz also seem likely to move a number of veterans this offseason, which could clear up a lot of shots for the rookie wing.

Still, Flagg is such a complete prospect, he'll likely make a major impact for a Mavericks team with playoff expectations. That's the sort of thing voters take note of, leaving Flagg as the obvious, and prohibitive, favorite.