Cooper Flagg tops Kon Knueppel for ROY honors in tight race

Teenage sensation Cooper Flagg was named NBA Rookie of the Year on Monday, narrowly defeating his former Duke roommate Kon Knueppel for the honor.

Flagg defeated Knueppel by 26 points in voting by a panel of 100 media members. Flagg received 56 votes for first place, with the rest going to Knueppel. Flagg received 44 votes for second place, while Knueppel received 55 votes for second place and one for third place.

The 19-year-old Flagg became the second youngest player to win the award after LeBron James.

When Flagg was asked how closely he keeps an eye on Knueppel, he said, “I watch the game every night. I can see the box score.” “I also think I was watching Con just because he’s one of my brothers.

“We had a great relationship, and we’ll be with each other for the rest of our lives. I was watching him as a fan as well, but obviously there was competition at the same time.”

According to the NBA, the 26-point voting gap between Flagg and Nueppel (20) is the second-smallest difference between the top finishers in the Rookie of the Year race since the current voting format began in the 2002–03 campaign. Only Scotty Barnes (378 points) and Evan Mobley (363) had a smaller race difference in the 2021–22 season.

Flagg, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists for the Dallas Mavericks, joining Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Luka Doncic as the only rookies to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and four assists in 50 seasons since the NBA-ABA merger. Flagg led all rookies in scoring, ranked second among qualifiers in assists and third in rebounds.

Knuppel, the No. 4 pick, averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists while breaking the rookie record for 3-pointers made with a league-leading 273. He played a major role in the midseason turnaround for the Charlotte Hornets, who finished 44–38, a 25-win improvement from the previous season before being eliminated in the Eastern Conference play-in round.

Flagg’s anticipation of playing immediately for a playoff contender was not fulfilled, as injuries derailed the Mavericks’ season, before he traded 10-time All-Star Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards, motivated by creating financial flexibility to build long-term around a rookie.

Dallas finished 26–56 as Flagg joined Jordan as the only rookie in NBA history to lead their teams in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Flagg was the only NBA player this season to lead his team in each of these categories.

Flagg, who turned 19 on December 21, had a historic season for a teenager. He became the youngest player in NBA history to score games of 35, 40, 45 and 50 points, as well as the youngest player to dish at least 10 assists.

The 6-foot-9 Flagg, who began his career as a point guard after never playing the position, recorded three of the four 45-point performances by a teenager in league history. Doncic (five) and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (four) were the only players in the league with more than 45-point games this season.

Flagg set the single-game scoring record for a teenager with 49 points in a loss to the Hornets on January 29 – a spectacular duel with Knueppel, who had a season-high 34 points that night – then broke it by scoring 51 in a loss to the Orlando Magic on April 3.

Flagg had six games with at least 30 points, five rebounds and five assists, which was one more game than the rest of the rookie class.