Former Duke star Cooper Flagg won the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year Award with the Dallas Mavericks.
Former Duke star Cooper Flagg, who was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the first overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, won the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year Award.
Flagg appeared in 70 games during his rookie season. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 46.8% from the field, 29.5% from beyond the arc and 82.7% from the free-throw line.
Flagg received his Rookie of the Year Award trophy on Wednesday and spoke to Mavericks reporters about winning the award.
“I think it means everything. This award and this recognition is something all rookies come into the year fighting for and competing for,” Flagg said, via Grant Afseth of Dallas Hoops Journal. “Just the recognition means a lot to me. All the hard work, all the hours I’ve put in throughout the year, and even before that, throughout my life, just to get this moment, it shows that it’s all worth it.”
Flagg averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game in his lone season at Duke. The Maine native's best game in college was against Notre Dame on January 11, 2025. He had 42 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
Duke fans probably watch a lot of Mavericks games because Dallas has Flagg, Kyrie Irving and Dereck Lively II, three former Blue Devils.
“Obviously, thank you to my teammates, the ones that are here and the ones who aren’t. I wouldn’t have been able to do it without them,” Flagg said. “Coaches, Coach Kidd, the rest of the staff, just thank you to them. It’s an incredible recognition, and it means a ton.”
The last former Duke player to win Rookie of the Year before Flagg was Paolo Banchero of the Orlando Magic.
There are several former Duke players in the NBA. Flagg is the youngest one, but he might be the best one already.
“I found out at six o’clock on TV. I was sitting on my couch with my family and saw the announcement like everyone else,” Flagg said. “It was a cool moment. It’s one of the first times I’ve won an award like that and had to find out with everybody else. I was a little nervous, but it was special to share that with my family.”
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