Cooper Flagg wins NBA Rookie of the Year after Kon Knueppel's Play-In Tournament struggles swayed voters

Cooper Flagg came into the NBA as a can’t-miss prospect, and somehow he’s exceeded the hype. Brace yourselves, but his rookie season has already put him in conversations with Michael Jordan. The scary part? He’s still a teenager—so how good can he really become?

Dallas Mavericks first overall pick Cooper Flagg was named the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year, and it was a thrillingly close vote in the end.

Flagg narrowly beat out Charlotte Hornets’ sharpshooter Kon Knueppel, his fellow Duke Blue Devils star who went three picks later than Flagg in last year’s draft, earning 56 first-place votes compared to Knueppel’s 44. So, Flagg finished with 412 total vote points to Knueppel’s 386.

Philadelphia 76ers guard VJ Edgecombe finished in third place with 96 points (93 third-place votes), while San Antonio Spurs’ Dylan Harper and Memphis Grizzlies' Cedric Coward also got third-place votes.

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Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg controls the ball in the second half against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Dallas, Texas, on March 30, 2026. (Gareth Patterson/AP Photo)

Flagg is the second-youngest player to ever win the award, as the 19-year-old was only behind Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James.

For most of the season, it appeared Knueppel was going to win the award, but multiple voters came out publicly and said Knueppel’s Play-In Tournament struggles factored into them changing their minds for Flagg.

MAVERICKS' COOPER FLAGG ADMITS ROOKIE SEASON HAS BEEN 'MENTALLY TAXING' AMID THE TEAM'S STRUGGLES

Knueppel had just six points on 2-of-12 shooting in 34 minutes during the Hornets’ electric 127-126 overtime win over the Miami Heat at the start of the tournament. Then, in the 121-90 loss