Coming into the 2025-26 NBA season, the consensus belief was that Cooper Flagg would run away with the Rookie of the Year. That has been far from reality. Although Flagg remains a top candidate, he isn’t the favorite to win the award by a landslide.
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Flagg has actually been neck and neck with his former college teammate Kon Knueppel. Both players have excellent cases to be in the lead, but Stephen A. Smith believes one stands out over the other.
Flagg entered the season with immense expectations. The top overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft joined the Dallas Mavericks as one of the most hyped prospects in recent memory. However, Flagg was unable to find his footing right out of the gates. The Mavericks experimented with playing the 19-year-old at the point guard position, which didn’t go well.
On the other hand, Knueppel was shining with the Charlotte Hornets. Despite being mainly a three-point shooter in college, the former Duke Blue Devil showcased offensive versatility, which he didn’t have the opportunity to display in his brief collegiate tenure.
He has since sustained that level of performance en route to averages of 18.9 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. The most impressive aspect of his offensive performance is his efficiency. He is shooting 48.4% from the field and an absurd 43.1% from three-point range.
Thankfully, Flagg started to put things together, making the Rookie of the Year race much more interesting. In his last six games, he is averaging 32.0 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 4.0 assists on 52.6% shooting from the field. On the season as a whole, Flagg is putting up 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game as a teenager.
Statistically, an argument can be made for either player. However, Smith highlights one key aspect of Flagg’s game which he believes gives him the edge.
“Cooper does it all,” Smith proclaimed on ESPN’s First Take. “He’s the total package. [The Dallas Mavericks] know they have the future face of their franchise, and they are building around him because he is worth it.”
“Cooper [Flagg] does it all. I mean, he’s the total package. … [The Mavericks] know they have the future face of their franchise, and they are building around him because he is worth it.”
—@stephenasmith on Flagg’s Rookie of the Year-caliber season pic.twitter.com/F6e5lKoOmW
— First Take (@FirstTake) February 19, 2026
Flagg’s ability to ‘do everything’ is Smith’s way of referring to his two-way ability. The most intriguing aspect of Flagg’s skillset as a prospect is his ability to dominate on both ends of the floor. He is just as good defensively as he is offensively. We have seen through 49 games that he refuses to take plays off, which is a great trait to have for a young star.
Knueppel isn’t a slouch on defense either, but he is nowhere close to the defender Flagg is. It may seem that Smith is overlooking Knueppel since he isn’t as big of a name as Flagg, but that is not the case. Smith has actually been quite surprised with how great the Hornets rookie has been this season.
“Knueppel has surprised me pleasantly so. I agree with Draymond Green when he says he looks like a young Klay Thompson shooting the basketball,” Smith said.
A comparison to Klay Thompson isn’t something to throw around lightly. Nonetheless, Knueppel is deserving of such praise. He became the fastest player in NBA history to reach 100 career three-pointers. Knueppel even showcased his outstanding shooting ability for the world during the All-Star Three-Point Contest.
Missing out on Rookie of the Year wouldn’t be an indictment on Knueppel as a player. It should however be noted that the race is far from run. There’s still a few months left of the regular season, so we can never know for sure.
