Cooper Flagg Wins 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year Award over Kon Knueppel, Full Voting Results

Cooper Flagg won the battle of the Duke Blue Devils in the race for the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year award.

As the season progressed, it became clear Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks and Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets were the only realistic contenders as the top two rookies in the league.

It was a fitting battle since they were both teammates with the Blue Devils and top-five picks in the 2025 NBA draft, but Flagg captured the award. VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers was also a finalist.

That Flagg was in the race comes as no surprise. After all, he was the surefire No. 1 pick in the most recent draft and arrived in Dallas with the expectation he would become a franchise cornerstone sooner rather than later even as a teenager.

If the early returns are any indication, he is going to live up to those expectations.

Flagg averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field. He also made plenty of history in the process and found himself alongside some elite company as a result.

First, he surpassed LeBron James' single-game scoring record for an 18-year-old (37 points) in December when he scored 42 points against the Utah Jazz. Then, he became the youngest player in NBA history with a 50-point game when he poured in 51 in April against the Orlando Magic.

As if that wasn't enough, Flagg joined the legendary Michael Jordan as the only rookies to lead their respective teams in points, rebounds, assists and steals for a single season since the 1973-74 campaign.

In most seasons, that would have been more than enough to completely run away with the Rookie of the Year award.

But this wasn't most seasons.

Knueppel arrived in Charlotte as the No. 4 overall pick and wasted no time making an impact while averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 0.7 steals per game. He also shot a sparkling 42.5 percent from three-point range and led the NBA in total three-pointers made at 273.

That shooting is the first thing that jumps out about his game, and it was a major reason the Hornets exceeded expectations and reached the play-in tournament. However, they lost to the Orlando Magic and failed to reach the playoffs despite starting the tournament with a win over the Miami Heat.

Knueppel struggled in both games with six points on 2-of-12 shooting against the Heat and 11 points on 3-of-10 shooting against the Magic.

Still, Knueppel's best case in the race against Flagg may have been that winning in the regular season. The Hornets improved from 19-63 during the 2024-25 campaign to 44-38 this season thanks to an impressive in-season turnaround after a slow start.

Kon Breaks Kemba's 3PM Record 🎯

00:17

Their youth movement, which Knueppel is a major part of, provides plenty of hope and optimism moving toward the future.

By comparison, Dallas went 26-56 as one of the most disappointing teams in the league. That was hardly Flagg's fault, as he was excellent from an individual level and put up those numbers as the primary focal point since Kyrie Irving didn't play due to injury and Anthony Davis was traded to the Washington Wizards.

Still, some voters might have seen the difference in team performance as something of a tiebreaker in the race between Flagg and Knueppel.

Ultimately, though, it was Flagg who was named the top rookie.