In recent years, there have been many NBA players who won Rookie of the Year who have gone on to have great success in the NBA.
If it were 2024’s Victor Wembanyama or all the way back to 2004’s LeBron James, many winners have gone on to become the face of their franchise.
However, in 2026, many are finding it difficult to decide whether the award goes to the first overall pick of the 2025 NBA Draft in Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks, or the fourth overall pick Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets.
Two former teammates during their time at Duke University, where they helped lead the team to a (35-4) record in the 2024-25 college basketball season.
The debate has even further heated up following the Jan. 29 game, where Charlotte defeated Dallas 123-121 at the American Airlines Center.
Whilst Flagg was the star of that team and expected to be the Rookie of the Year’s runaway favorite, that hasn’t exactly been the case.
Since entering the league, Flagg has averaged 18.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 4.1 assists on a 47.3 field goal percentage.
Impressive when realizing he played out of position for his first few weeks in the NBA.
Taking into consideration that Flagg also broke the record for most points scored by an 18-year-old and a teenager in a single game, the forward has a pretty good argument.
Although the same can be said for Knueppel.
The guard is currently averaging 18.7 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3,6 assists on a 48.2 field goal percentage.
Some may say his stats are less impressive than Flagg’s, but Knueppel has broken multiple NBA records in his own right as well.
Knueppel is the fastest player in NBA history to ever make 100 three-pointers, doing so in just 29 games.
As well, Knueppel now holds the record for most 20-point games by a rookie on a 50/40/90 shooting split.
Two future faces of the franchise chasing one prize has led to discourse in the world of basketball amongst analysts and fans.
Regardless of who wins, both players have already cemented their places as two of the most promising talents of the 2020s.
