Teen sensation Flagg named NBA Rookie of the Year

Dallas Mavericks' Cooper Flagg edged former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel to win the NBA Rookie of the Year award Monday night.

Flagg set a host of records for an NBA teenager in an also-ran season for the Mavs. He became the first rookie since Michael Jordan in 1984-85 to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals.

That and other accolades for a teenager were enough to overcome a difficult season for the Mavericks, while Knueppel helped the Charlotte Hornets to a 25-win improvement that almost led to a spot in the playoffs.

• Wembanyama, Gilgeous-Alexander and Jokic named NBA MVP finalists
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The 19-year-old Flagg and Knueppel were first and second in rookie scoring, the first former college teammates to do that since UConn stars Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon in 2004-05. Philadelphia's VJ Edgecombe was the other finalist.

"I see the games every night. I can check the box scores," Flagg said when asked how close of an eye he kept on Knueppel during the season.

"I think also I was watching Kon just because that's one of my brothers. We had such a good connection, and we're gonna be there for each other for the rest of our lives. I was watching him as a fan as well, but there was obviously that competition at the same time."

The rookie award was the sixth to be announced by the NBA since the end of the regular season.

The others

• San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama was the unanimous Defensive Player of the Year.
• Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander got 96 of a possible 100 first-place votes to win the Clutch Player of the Year award.
• San Antonio's Keldon Johnson won Sixth Man of the Year.
• Boston's Derrick White won the Sportsmanship Award. That award, unlike most others, is selected solely by active players.
• Atlanta's Nickeil Alexander-Walker won Most Improved Player.
• Other award announcements yet to be scheduled include MVP (either Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver's Nikola Jokic) and Coach of the Year (either Detroit's J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio's Mitch Johnson or Boston's Joe Mazzulla).
• The NBA will announce the Executive of the Year, the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year and the Hustle Award winner later this week.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points, Chet Holmgren added 24 and the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns 131-122 on Monday night, capping a four-game sweep in the first-round series.

The Thunder - who have a 12-0 record in the first round over the last three seasons - will face the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers-Houston Rockets series in the Western Conference semi-finals.

The Lakers have a 3-1 lead, though the Rockets won Game 4.