The Rookie of the Year race has been one of the most exciting facets of a wild 2025-26 NBA season. After it felt like Cooper Flagg would run away with it as an extremely hyped prospect, his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel has made the race extremely interesting.
However, over the last week, after a slew of excellent performances, one analyst believes the Dallas Mavericks star has taken a vice grip on the award. Unfortunately, he doesn’t agree with the methods he’s used to get there.
Why Cooper Flagg Is Solidifying Rookie of the Year Over Kon Knueppel
Going into the 2025 draft, it felt like the class was clearly separated into Flagg and everybody else. That is how it transpired: the Mavericks selected the superstar prodigy with the first overall pick.
A loaded class overall, it included other intriguing players like Dylan Harper and Knueppel himself, both of whom have been extremely valuable to the San Antonio Spurs and the Charlotte Hornets, respectively.
The latter, in particular, has been a key part of the franchise’s turnaround. Since the turn of the calendar, they’ve made an almighty push to emerge as a legitimate force in the Eastern Conference, and Knueppel has been a major piece of that change.
As a result, his case for the Rookie of the Year seemed to be strengthening until last week. Then a 50-point explosion followed by another 40-point performance in back-to-back games seems to have given Flagg the edge once again.
Veteran analyst Skip Bayless certainly believes it is the Dallas star’s award to lose. However, he doesn’t agree with the way he locked up the distinction. On the latest episode of “Gil’s Arena,” he broke down his grievances.
“He did for the wrong reasons. And I still think Kon Knueppel should be the Rookie of the Year. Look, is Cooper Flagg a better player than Kon Knueppel will ever be? Yes. But who had the more valuable rookie year? Kon Knueppel did. Leading the league in threes made, 43% from three.”
.@RealSkipBayless thinks Cooper Flagg locked up Rookie of the Year for the WRONG reasons 👀
“Kon Knueppel was the favorite until 3 games ago. Cooper Flagg was averaging 15 shots per-game, until the last 3 games where he’s taken 30 shots, 27 shots, & 25 shots.” pic.twitter.com/0tjxiwRSfS
— Gil’s Arena (@GilsArenaShow) April 8, 2026
With Knueppel averaging 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists, Bayless credited him as the catalyst for the turnaround in Charlotte. But then he came to his issue with the way momentum had swung in Flagg’s corner, as he explained.
“Kon Knueppel was the favorite until 3 games ago and 3 games ago, Cooper Flagg was averaging 15 shots per-game, until the last 3 games where he’s taken 30 shots, 27 shots, and 25 shots. So all of a sudden, with nothing to play for except garbage time points, he has just garbaged out.”
Over the course of the season as a whole, Flagg has averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.6 assists. He’s also been an excellent defender and efficient overall, shooting 46.7% from the field and 82.4% from the free-throw line.
Simply put, this race has come down to the wire with these two. It remains to be seen where the award officially ends up. But as things currently stand, it is anybody’s trophy to take home.
