Flagg Wins NBA Rookie of the Year in Close Race

About this episode

Cooper Flagg narrowly won the 2025-2026 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year award over Kon Knueppel amid a controversial voting process.

Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks narrowly won the 2025-2026 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year award, edging out Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel in a close race. Flagg received 56 first-place votes to Knueppels 44, both players putting up star-level stats and significantly improving their teams. The twist came when Luka Doncics eligibility was questioned, pushing voting into the Play-In Tournament. Knueppels poor shooting performance in the Hornets first Play-In game may have influenced voters. Knueppel had an impressive rookie season, averaging 18.5 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 3.4 threes per game, leading the league in threes made. The debate continues over whether Doncics delay and Knueppels rough Play-In game cost him the award. Support the show: Get a discount at https://solipillow.com/discount/dnn. Advertise on DNN: advertise@thednn.ai This is an automated, high-level news summary based on public reporting. Report issues to feedback@thednn.ai. View sources & latest updates: https://sources.thednn.ai/eadd2dcd17fe6fec

People in this episode

Host: The Daily News Now!

Topics covered

• NBA Rookie of the Year
• Cooper Flagg
• Kon Knueppel
• Dallas Mavericks
• Charlotte Hornets
• Play-In Tournament

Keywords

• NBA
• Rookie of the Year
• Cooper Flagg
• Kon Knueppel
• Dallas Mavericks
• Charlotte Hornets
• Play-In Tournament
• Luka Doncic
• basketball

Sponsors

Solipillow

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Dallas Mavericks, Charlotte Hornets

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