The Dallas Mavericks’ young star has been awarded Rookie of the Year, securing an incredibly tight victory over his former college teammate, Kon Knueppel.
The 19-year-old forward for the Mavs, who was the top pick in the recent draft, earned the ‘Rookie of the Year 2026’ award despite his team’s disappointing season record. The North American professional basketball league announced this on Monday.
In his debut NBA season, Flagg averaged an impressive 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 1.2 steals per game, leading the Mavericks in all four categories. However, Dallas only managed to win 26 games and narrowly missed the playoffs.
Such statistical dominance by a rookie within their team was last seen in 1985 when Michael Jordan led the Chicago Bulls in these metrics. Flagg’s scoring performances were particularly spectacular: earlier this month, he scored 51 points in a victory against Orlando, making him the youngest player in NBA history to achieve a 50-point game. He recorded four games with at least 40 points, a feat not accomplished by a rookie since Allen Iverson in the 1996/97 season.
Flagg is the third player from the Mavericks, the former club of Dirk Nowitzki, to receive this honor, following in the footsteps of Jason Kidd (1995) and Luka Doncic (2019).
Flagg and Knueppel Shine Brightly, Leading the Rookie Class
Finishing second in the voting was Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets. Flagg’s college teammate had been engaged in an epic race for the trophy with him throughout the season.
The forward led the entire league in three-pointers made and broke several rookie three-point records. Knueppel concluded the regular season averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game. Thanks to his performances, the Hornets mounted an impressive comeback starting at the New Year and finished the regular season in ninth place in the Eastern Conference with a 44-38 record. However, they lost in the second Play-In game to the Orlando Magic, featuring Franz Wagner, and missed the playoffs.
Flagg and Knueppel were selected as the first and second choices by 100 out of 101 voters. Only 26 points separated the two top favorites. Flagg received 412 points, while Knueppel garnered 386. This marks the second-closest Rookie of the Year race in NBA history since the format was introduced in 2002/2003. Only the 2021/2022 season, between Scottie Barnes (378) and Evan Mobley (363), was tighter.
VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers secured third place with a considerable margin. Dylan Harper (San Antonio Spurs) and Cedric Coward (Memphis Grizzlies) also received a few third-place votes.
NBA Rookie of the Year: Final Results
| Rank | Player (Team) | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cooper Flagg (Mavericks) | 56 | 44 | 0 | 412 |
| 2 | Kon Knueppel (Hornets) | 44 | 55 | 1 | 386 |
| 3 | VJ Edgecombe (76ers) | 0 | 1 | 93 | 96 |
| 4 | Dylan Harper (Spurs) | 0 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| 5 | Cedric Coward (Grizzlies) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |