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Cooper Flagg just pulled off a Kon job.
The Mavericks star narrowly defeated his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel for NBA Rookie of the Year honors on Monday night, beating him out by 26 points in the voting.
“I was watching Kon just because that’s one of my brothers,” Flagg told NBC after he was named Rookie of the Year. “We have that connection and we’re always going to be there for each other.
“I was watching him as a fan as well, but there’s also going to be that competition at the same time.”
Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) dunks the ball in the fourth quarter against the Milwaukee Bucks at Fiserv Forum. Benny Sieu-Imagn ImagesFlagg became the first rookie since Michael Jordan during the 1984-85 season to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. The forward also led all rookies in scoring during the 2025-26 season
The 19-year-old had averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals this year.
The voting was expected to be close after the two former Blue Devils had impressive rookie seasons.
Flagg received 56 first-place votes and Knueppel received 44 first-place votes, with other finalist V.J. Edgecombe not receiving any first-place votes.
Knueppel had averaged 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists during his first year in the league with the Hornets. He had also set the rookie record for 3-pointers made with a league-best 273.
Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets dribbles the ball during the game against the New York Knicks on April 12, 2026. NBAE via Getty ImagesKnueppel was taken with the fourth overall pick in the draft last year and helped Charlotte reach the NBA Play-In Tournament, where his side eventually fell to the Magic.
Flagg went first overall to the Mavericks and saw his team go 26-56 during the 2025-26 campaign.
The teen became the youngest player in league history to record games with 35, 40, 45 and 50 points.
He also became the youngest player to have at least 10 assists in a game.
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