Cooper Flagg is expected to return to the Dallas Mavericks’ lineup Thursday after missing eight games with a foot sprain. The 19-year-old forward might have a lot of work to do over the team’s final 21 contests if he hopes to take home the 2026 NBA Rookie of the Year award.
Flagg leads all rookies in scoring with an average of 20.4 points, which also places him first on the Mavericks. He is second among first-year players in both assists (4.1) and minutes (34.1) while ranking third in double-doubles (eight).
But Flagg has played in only 49 games since being selected by Dallas with the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, as he also missed time this season due to an illness and a sprained ankle.
This is one of the reasons Flagg isn’t considered the favorite for the ROY award at the major sportsbooks. That distinction belongs to former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel, who has played a big role in the Charlotte Hornets’ surge toward their first playoff berth since 2015-16
A 20-year-old guard who was drafted fourth overall last year, Knueppel has appeared in 13 more games than Flagg and already has set the NBA rookie record for 3-pointers made (216 through Wednesday). He is priced between -150 and -190 at the major books, while Flagg is listed between +120 and +145.
|
PLAYER |
DRAFTKINGS |
FANDUEL |
CAESARS |
BETMGM |
|
Kon Knueppel |
-180 |
-150 |
-190 |
-165 |
|
Cooper Flagg |
+145 |
+120 |
+145 |
+125 |
The Hornets, who entered Thursday tied for ninth place in the Eastern Conference standings, haven’t had a Rookie of the Year winner since LaMelo Ball captured the award in 2020-21. The most recent Maverick to earn the honor was Luca Doncic two years earlier. This season’s recipient will be a product of Duke, which saw alum Paolo Banchero take home the trophy in 2022-23.
Guard VJ Edgecombe of the Philadelphia 76ers is the only other player on the board at the major books but is an enormous longshot with odds ranging from +10000 to +15000. The race for ROY clearly is between Knueppel and Flagg, and their performances over the final five-plus weeks of the season will determine the winner.
Best bet: Flagg (+145, DraftKings and Caesars)
Knueppel’s shooting ability from long distance can’t be denied as he is hitting 43.6% of his shots from beyond the arc and has a sizable lead over Philadelphia’s Tyrese Maxey (199 through Wednesday) for the league lead in 3-pointers made. He also has a 48.8 field-goal percentage and has made 86.9% of his free throws.
However, Flagg leads Knueppel in many other categories, such as points (20.4-19.2), rebounds (6.6-5.5), assists (4.1-3.4), steals (1.2-0.8) and blocks (0.8-0.3). He slightly trails his 2024-25 college teammate in field-goal percentage (48.8-48.2) and is among the NBA leaders in clutch scoring.
Flagg has proven to be the most complete two-way rookie in the league when healthy. And he outperformed Knueppel on Jan. 29 in their only meeting this season, setting the NBA record for most points in a game by a teenager with 49 on 20-of-29 shooting while grabbing 10 rebounds for a double-double. Knueppel was no slouch in the matchup as he led Charlotte with a season-high 34 points pulled down four rebounds.
Barring another injury, there’s certainly enough time left in the season for Flagg – who likely won’t have the added pressure of helping his team compete for a playoff spot – to move ahead of Knueppel in the ROY race. Backing him now at plus odds makes a lot of sense.