Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks was voted NBA Rookie of the Year on Monday, narrowly edging former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel. The 19-year-old rookie compiled a rare set of statistical achievements for a teenager and stood out in an otherwise trying season for Dallas.
Flagg became the first rookie since Michael Jordan in 1984-85 to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals, a collection of milestones that helped secure the honor. Knueppel, who played a major role in the Charlotte Hornets’ dramatic 25-win turnaround that almost produced a playoff berth, finished second in the voting. Philadelphia’s VJ Edgecombe was the other finalist.
Flagg and Knueppel also finished first and second in rookie scoring — the first time former college teammates have occupied those spots since UConn’s Emeka Okafor and Ben Gordon in 2004-05.
Speaking about Knueppel, Flagg said he followed his former teammate’s season closely. He noted that he watches the games and checks box scores regularly, and that his attention was part admiration, part friendly rivalry. “We had such a good connection, and we’re going to be there for each other for the rest of our lives,” he added.
The Rookie of the Year announcement was the sixth individual award revealed since the regular season concluded. Other recent award winners and updates:
– Victor Wembanyama of San Antonio was a unanimous Defensive Player of the Year selection.
– Oklahoma City’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander captured the Clutch Player of the Year award, receiving 96 of 100 first-place votes.
– San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson earned Sixth Man of the Year honors.
– Boston’s Derrick White was chosen by his peers for the Sportsmanship Award.
– Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker won Most Improved Player.
Announcements still pending include Most Valuable Player (among Gilgeous-Alexander, Wembanyama or Denver’s Nikola Jokic) and Coach of the Year (between Detroit’s J.B. Bickerstaff, San Antonio’s Mitch Johnson or Boston’s Joe Mazzulla). Executive of the Year, the Twyman-Stokes Teammate of the Year and the Hustle Award are scheduled to be revealed later in the week.
On the court Monday night, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander led the Oklahoma City Thunder past the Phoenix Suns 131-122, finishing with 31 points as OKC completed a four-game sweep in their opening-round matchup. Chet Holmgren added 24 points in the clincher.
The victory extended the Thunder’s perfect record in first-round series to 12-0 over the last three postseasons. Oklahoma City will now wait to learn its second-round opponent: the Thunder will face the winner of the Los Angeles Lakers–Houston Rockets series. The Lakers hold a 3-1 lead in that matchup after the Rockets won Game 4.