NBA legend Carmelo Anthony was robbed of Rookie of the Year in 2004, and after early criticisms of Cooper Flagg has offered his endorsement to the Dallas Mavericks' rookie.
The Rookie of the Year race in the NBA this season has been closer than many thought it would be. Dallas Mavericks first overall pick Cooper Flagg and his college roommate, Kon Knueppel, have swapped places on the ladder all season long.
As the Hornets exceed preseason expectations, many pundits have Flagg second to Knueppel in the race.
One of those people was future NBA Hall of Famer Carmelo Anthony, who said that he picked Knueppel over Cooper because of the sheer impact that Kon was having in a place like Charlotte.
But recently speaking on the NBA on NBC’s "Basketball Night in America", the legend has changed his tune a bit.
"My pick was Knueppel... but when you look at what Cooper Flagg is actually doing, one of the youngest to score 50 the other night, back-to-back 40. We talk about star power and faces of the league. Cooper has everything you could possibly want from a young superstar," Anthony said. "I don't see too many young players who have what he has. I'm going to go with Cooper."
The former Duke phenom has 96 points in his last two games, and he just became the first rookie to ever score 40 points against the great LeBron James. So, despite all of these losses the Mavs have been suffering, you can't necessarily blame them on Coop.
He is averaging just under 21 points, six rebounds, and four assists per game in his first year, absolutely stuffing the stat sheet. The only knock against him is his subpar shooting numbers. Behind the arc, Knueppel is clearly the better player, although Flagg is a more complete star.
Knueppel is also having an incredible season, as he broke the rookie three-pointers made record quite a while ago. He is putting up a solid slash line, and has been flirting with 50-40-90 at times.
But Flagg has been affecting the game in every single way for Dallas, whether it has been on the offensive or defensive side of the ball. He has also slotted in as the team's point guard with Kyrie Irving out for the season, which has been invaluable.
While both are having great seasons, Cooper has just been everything that was advertised, making his impact felt on every single possession.
And now he finally has the endorsement from an NBA legend who once bet against him.