Cooper Flagg was once an odds-on favorite to win the Rookie of the Year award when he was drafted first overall. Through a month and change of his inaugural season, a former teammate is the one now leading the pack.
This week, Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg was named the KIA NBA Western Conference Rookie of the Month, the first installment of the award to cover games played in October and November.
When Flagg was drafted first overall by the Mavs in this summer's NBA Draft after a stellar one-and-done year at Duke, Flagg was the consensus choice to be this year's Rookie of the Year, with other generationally-acclaimed prospects having rookie campaigns that lived up to the hype like Victor Wembanyama and LeBron James.
Through a month of the season, it's actually a former teammate of Flagg who is leading the charge in the preliminary Rookie of the Year conversations: the Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month, Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets.
Knueppel is familiar with Flagg's game as the two were teammates at Duke last season. Their pairing in this monthly honor makes history as its the first time former college teammates won the award simultaneously.
According to NBA.com's latest "Rookie Ladder" column that chronicles the progress of each first-year player throughout the year, Knueppel has held ground over Flagg and the rest of the pack, even as the new Mavs star has racked up highlights in clutch situations.
It's Knueppel's nuclear pace from behind the arc that has even the game's greatest shooters watching in awe ... and already thinking about the lifespan of Stephen Curry's all-time record.
“He’s winning ROTY,” said Hall-of-Fame flamethrower Reggie Miller, now NBC’s lead TV analyst. “Dare I say this, is Stephen Curry gonna be a little nervous in about 15 years? Just go back and look at Steph’s first two to three years in terms of 3-pointers made and what Kon has done this year.”
And so we have. Knueppel is averaging 18.3 points per game through 21 games, with an average of 3.5 three-pointers made a night. He puts up 8.4 shots from long range per game and is knocking them down at 41.5 percent - an elite mark for that sample size. Knueppel is also getting plenty of run on the rebuilding Hornets by receiving over 33 minutes of action per game.
Curry averaged a career-high 36 minutes as a rookie, but he was shooting at a less productive clip than Knueppel is. Steph hit less threes (2.1) on less attempts (4.8) per game, but his efficiency was slightly higher at over 43 percent.
Those are gaudy numbers and a tough pace to keep up with, but it puts Knueppel clearly in front of Flagg in predicting end-of-season awards.
Flagg is no three-point sniper, but he's already asserted himself as Dallas' go-to player down the stretch, leading all rookies by a wide margin in clutch points. In fact, Flagg is fourth in the entire NBA with 52 points scored when the game is within five points with under five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. He trails only Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Cade Cunningham and Tyrese Maxey in total clutch points, but he's leading the top-10 clutch scorers in shooting percentage during those situations at 59.3 percent.
Granted, the Mavericks lead the NBA in clutch games, but that doesn't discredit what the top-pick rookie has done in those opportunities.
In total, Flagg has gained ground on Knueppel on the Rookie Ladder after a historic month of action. Flagg recently became the youngest player in NBA history to score at least 35 points in a game (Nov. 29 vs. Clippers) and to total at least 10 assists in a game (Nov. 28 vs. Lakers).
On the season, the Mavs rookie is averaging 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 33 minutes per game.
“It starts with my teammates,” Flagg said about the credit to this strong start. “They’re just giving me a lot of confidence and helping me get in that mindset … Just having that confidence and going out there and being in attack mode from the jump.”
“Don’t second-guess yourself. Ever," he added. "I’m here for a reason. Be who I am."
We'll see if that belief can continue propelling up the ladder toward a Rookie of the Year candidacy.