Why Kon Knueppel Is Now the Favorite Over Cooper Flagg for NBA Rookie of the Year

When the 2025-26 NBA season began, Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg was the overwhelming favorite to win the league’s Rookie of the Year Award.

Flagg, who spent one year at Duke before he was taken with the first overall selection in the 2025 NBA Draft, was listed as a -170 favorite on DraftKings. Every other rookie was at least 10-1.

That’s why they call it gambling.

Fast forward to today and there are at least two things that could prevent Flagg from winning the award: 1) a sprained foot that forced him to miss eight games before he returned to action Thursday night against Orlando; and 2) Charlotte guard/forward Kon Knueppel.

If you follow such things, you know that Knueppel, Flagg’s teammate and roommate at Duke, has surged past Flagg and is now the betting favorite to be selected as the Rookie of the Year. At DraftKings, Knueppel is-180, Flagg is +145 and Philadelphia’s VJ Edgecombe is +12000. Knueppel, the fourth pick in last year’s draft, began the season at +1400.

Flagg has better individual statistics. Entering Friday’s matchup with Boston, he’s averaging 20.3 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per contest, and shooting 47.8% from the field. Still, some voters will undoubtedly take issue with the fact that he’s missed 12 of his team’s 62 games.

“Obviously the hardest part is not playing,” Flagg said following Thursday’s game. “I love to compete. I love to play basketball so having that taken away from me was tough, but it’s a good opportunity for me to learn and get perspective.”

Knueppel has played in 62 of Charlotte’s 63 games, and is averaging 19.2 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.4 assists per contest. He’s made 216 3-point field goals – the most in the NBA – and is shooting 43.6% from beyond the arc. His 216 3-pointers are also an NBA rookie record.

The thing that might get Knueppel to the finish line first is Charlotte’s surprising success this season. Despite a 4-14 start, the Hornets had a 32-31 record and were looking to extend a six-game winning streak when they played a home game against Miami on Friday. Charlotte won 19 games last season and is seeking its first playoff appearance since 2015-16.

Dallas was 21-41 entering Friday’s game at Boston, and it appears unlikely that the Mavericks will come close to reaching the 39 wins they earned last season. His bias notwithstanding, Charlotte coach Charles Lee argued that Kneuppel is more deserving of the award than Flagg, and said Kneuppel has done a good job handling the competition with one of his close friends:

“I think he's done great. I don't even think it's close. I think Kon's done a really good job continuing to separate himself and impact winning and have consistency to him on both ends of the floor. I do think their friendly competition and the fact they come from the same basketball program adds to it, but for the most part Kon is a humble competitor who I don't even think gets caught up in it. He's probably gonna be mad at me for even saying something like that because he just wants to focus on our team and win games and impact it in any way he possibly can."

Twenty-two of the last 25 players who won the NBA Rookie of the Year Award played for teams that won more games during their rookie season than in the previous year.

Flagg still has time to overtake Kneupel and win the award, but winning matters. Charlotte’s improved won/loss record will likely be the difference and make Kneuppel the safer bet to be selected as the Rookie of the Year.