Cooper Flagg was named NBA Rookie of the Year on Monday, April 27, 2026, edging former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel in a tight vote that split the 100-member media panel nearly down the middle.
Flagg, the No. 1 pick by the Dallas Mavericks in last year’s NBA Draft, received 56 of 100 first-place votes after averaging 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks per game while shooting 46.8 percent from the field and 29.5 percent from 3-point range. Knueppel, taken No. 4 by the Charlotte Hornets, received the other 44 first-place votes after a rookie season of 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game while shooting 47.5 percent from the field, 42.5 percent on 7.9 3-point attempts per game and making a league-high 273 3-pointers.
"A global media panel of 100 voters selected the 2025-26 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year," NBA Communications said in a statement announcing the result.
The finish was historic: Flagg and Knueppel, former teammates at Duke, are the first pair from the same college program to finish first and second in Rookie of the Year voting. The 26-point gap between them was the second smallest since the current voting format began in 2002-03, underscoring how closely divided voters were between Flagg’s all-around stat line and Knueppel’s volume shooting and unprecedented 3-point output.
Flagg becomes the third player in Mavericks history to win the award, joining Jason Kidd, who took the honor for Dallas in 1995, and Luka Dončić, who won in 2019. The Mavericks’ prize bound up with last season’s larger gamble: Dallas fell into the lottery after the Luka Dončić trade to the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2024-25 season and still managed to secure the No. 1 pick despite having only 1.8 percent odds.
Knueppel’s rookie year was a major reason Charlotte climbed from 19-63 in 2024-25 to 44-38 in 2025-26. The Hornets reached the play-in but lost to the Orlando Magic with a playoff spot on the line. Knueppel’s 273 made 3-pointers led the league, and his efficiency — 42.5 percent on 7.9 attempts per game — gave voters a clear, measurable contrast to Flagg’s profile.
The tension at the heart of the result was simple: voters split over two different rookie blueprints. Flagg’s youth — he is the second-youngest player in league history to win Rookie of the Year, with only LeBron James younger when he claimed the honor — and his across-the-board numbers won out just enough for the Mavericks. Knueppel’s elite shooting and historic 3-point haul, however, kept the voting remarkably close.
What comes next is immediate and practical: Flagg leaves his rookie season with Rookie of the Year honors and the expectations that follow, while Knueppel’s numbers and the Hornets’ dramatic turnaround provide a foundation for Charlotte’s next step. The vote itself, split 56-44 by a 100-person global media panel, suggested not a clear heir apparent to the league’s next generational star but two different players who will shape their franchises in markedly different ways.
