As the NBA season reaches the final stretch, this year’s rookie of the year race between Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel’s been the closest since the 2017-18 race between Ben Simmons and Donovan Mitchell. In that season, Simmons won the NBA Rookie of the Year award, even after sitting out the year before because of an injury, which sparked controversy. Simmons received 481 total points on votes and Mitchell received 323 total points, which remains one of the closest races in recent memory.
Cooper Flagg was the No. 1 overall recruit in the nation out of high school, committing to play with the Duke Blue Devils. Knueppel was ranked the No. 16 recruit in the nation by 247sports out of high school and he also committed to play with Duke the same year as Flagg. Together, the two were tough to beat and exciting to watch, with Flagg averaging 19.2 points per game along with 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists. Knueppel averaged 14.4 points with 4.0 rebounds and 2.7 assists in their freshman year. That Duke team, led by the star freshman duo, made it all the way to the final four and finished the year with an overall record of 35-4. Flagg, in his freshman season, won national player of the year, which only happened three times in college basketball history, with Kevin Durant in 2007, Anthony Davis in 2012, and Zion Williamson in 2019 being the only players who won this award their freshman seasons.
Heading into the NBA draft, Flagg was the obvious No.1 pick, so whoever won the NBA draft lottery knew their guy. After the draft lottery concluded, the Dallas Mavericks ended up winning after only having a 1.8% chance of winning it. On draft night, the Mavericks selected Flagg first overall and a few picks later, the Charlotte Hornets picked seventh overall. Fast forward to February and only about 20 games are remaining and this year’s rookie race remains unbelievably close.
In the most recent NBA Rookie of the Year ladder posted by the NBA on Instagram, they put Knueppel above Flagg for the number one spot. This season, Flagg is currently averaging 20.4 points with 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists and Knueppel is averaging 19.3 points with 5.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists. Flagg leads Knueppel slightly in most stats, but Knueppel’s efficiency from three has been very special as he currently shoots 43.6% from three, which ranks 10th in the whole NBA. Even though what Knueppel’s done this season has been very special, it does not compare to the season Flagg is having. Flagg’s played with way more pressure due to him being considered a “generational prospect,” and his team around him is way worse than Knueppel’s. The Mavericks are currently 21-37 and the Hornets are 28-31, so it’s much easier for Knueppel to fit into their system, while Flagg has had to run the Mavericks system at 18 years old. Cooper Flagg will continue to dominate in this final stretch and win this year’s Rookie of the Year race.
