Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel faced each other for the first time in the NBA.
Former Duke stars Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel faced off against each other in the NBA for the first time on Thursday.
Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks hosted Knueppel and the Charlotte Hornets and Knueppel got the best of Flagg, as Charlotte won by a final score of 123-121.
Flagg poured in a career-high 49 points, while Knueppel finished with a career-high 34 points.
After the game, Flagg opened up about playing against Knueppel in the NBA.
"It's incredible," Flagg said. "That was my roommate last year. To have a night like this with him, I know how special he is and how hard he works. 10-plus years down the road, we'll both be looking back on this as something special. That's my brother for life and I've got really high praise for him."
The 2025-26 Rookie of the Year Award will come down between Flagg and Knueppel. Both youngsters are playing terrifically this season.
Flagg is averaging 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game this season while shooting 48.2% from the field, 29.0% from beyond the arc and 80.1% from the free-throw line.
Meanwhile, Knueppel is averaging 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game while shooting 48.6% from the field, 42.9% from beyond the arc and 90.0% from the free-throw line.
Flagg and Knueppel will be linked for their entire NBA careers. The Duke products are close friends, but once they hit the court, that friendship goes out the window because both guys are competitive and want to win.
"It's fun," Knueppel said. "Obviously he's really good. He was the best player on the floor tonight and probably the best player we've played against all season. It's fun competing against the best and being close with him adds to the competitiveness. So it was really fun."
The Mavericks dropped to 19-29 after losing to Charlotte, while the Hornets improved to 21-28.
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