It was a back-and-forth race for the NBA's Rookie of the Year between two Duke stars in Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks and Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets.
Flagg, the 2025 No. 1 pick, got off to a hot start and looked to be running away with the award. But then Knueppel came on strong, Flagg suffered an injury that held him out for a bit, and it looked like the scales had tipped for good.
Knueppel set the NBA record for most made threes by a rookie (273) and became the first rookie in NBA history to lead the league in made three-pointers. He did it on impressive efficiency, knocking down 42.5% of his attempts.
Knueppel's case for Rookie of the Year stemmed from his record-setting shooting performance and how good the Charlotte Hornets were after the All-Star break. The Hornets ultimately made the NBA's play-in tournament. Their 44 wins were the most for the franchise in a decade.
But it was a historic season for Flagg, too. While the Mavericks didn't enjoy the team success the Hornets did, Flagg was immediately the best player for Dallas as a rookie. He became the first rookie since Michael Jordan to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals.
Flagg also had a historic finish to the season, including a two-game run in April against the Magic and Lakers in which he scored a combined 96 points. The only rookie to accomplish that before Flagg was Wilt Chamberlain. It was that two-game stretch that likely flipped votes back to his favor.
Duke fans were likely rooting for a split-Rookie of the Year vote
It's hard to be happy for Flagg without also feeling bad for Kneuppel, who had the type of season deserving of such a prestigious award.
Three times previously in NBA history, the Rookie of the Year award was split, two of which featured former Duke players. Duke fans were hoping for a third this year.
It happened first in 1970-71 with Dave Cowens (Celtics) and Geoff Petrie (Trail Blazers). Then, Duke's Grant Hill (Pistons) and Jason Kidd (Mavericks) split the award in 1994-95. The final time it happened was in 1999-00 with Duke's Elton Brand (Bulls) and Steve Francis (Rockets) sharing the honor.
The vote was close, with Flagg earning 56 of the 100 first-place votes and Knueppel getting the other 44.
A global media panel of 100 voters selected the 2025-26 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year.
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) April 27, 2026
The 26-point gap between the top two finishers is the second smallest since the current voting format began in 2002-03, behind only a 15-point gap in 2021-22.
Complete voting results ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/LFW4a0m6g5
Flagg becomes Duke's fifth Rookie of the Year winner, joining Hill, Brand, Kyrie Irving, and Paolo Banchero.
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