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Though the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year odds are now in Kon Knueppel’s favor, the latest Cooper Flagg injury update could shake up the race.
After a tumultuous 12 months for the Dallas Mavericks, it has been clear that the team struck gold with first overall pick Cooper Flagg, as he is in a tight race with former Duke teammate and roommate Kon Knueppel for the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award this season.
However, Flagg has missed the Mavericks’ last seven games and has subsequently dropped his Rookie of the Year odds award for this year’s best rookie. Yet still, the latest Flagg injury update signals good news for both Dallas and his Rookie of the Year campaign.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, Flagg has reportedly been progressing from his foot injury and could return to the court soon.
Hearing some optimism in Dallas that Cooper Flagg is nearing a return from the midfoot sprain that has sidelined him for the past seven games.
The latest on Flagg and much, much more is covered in my Monday Best around-the-league NBA notes: t.co/QwRTckAGd5
“Hearing some optimism in Dallas that Cooper Flagg is nearing a return from the midfoot sprain that has sidelined him for the past seven games,” Stein wrote in a post on X.
In his rookie season, Flagg is averaging 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists on 48.2% shooting in 49 games, but has been out since early February with the foot injury. Since then, Knueppel has taken his place as the favorite to win Rookie of the Year.
Cooper Flagg Injury Update
This season hasn’t gone as planned for the Mavericks. However, Flagg has been a bright spot in what has been an overall disappointing season, highlighted by the injuries to other key players like Dereck Lively and Kyrie Irving, along with the relatively lackluster trade package they received for Anthony Davis, considering the franchise star Luka Doncic they gave up for him at the 2025 NBA trade deadline.
Still, in just 49 games, Flagg has proved that he has All-Star and even All-NBA potential. The 19-year-old leads rookies in points per game, while fifth in rebounds, and second in assists. While he has had the keys to Dallas this season, the team has gone just 2-5 since he’s been out with the foot injury. But, in what is good news, according to Stein, is that Flagg is expected back sometime soon.
“Mavericks coach Jason Kidd has already announced that Flagg playing Tuesday in Charlotte in another Rookie of the Year showdown against the Hornets‘ Kon Knueppel is ‘probably not’ in play,” Stein wrote. “But stay tuned.”
Flagg already missed a few games earlier in the season with back and ankle injuries, and while obviously this foot injury has been more severe, the Mavericks look like they are taking a cautious approach with the future of the franchise, as they expect to be featured in the lottery yet again this season.
If Flagg doesn’t return on Tuesday against Charlotte, he’ll have chances against the Orlando Magic on Thursday, Boston Celtics on Friday, and Toronto Raptors on Sunday.
Cooper Flagg And Kon Knueppel Rookie Of The Year Race
While this year’s class of NBA rookies has been very strong compared to those drafted in 2024, the Rookie of the Year race has mainly been between Flagg and Knueppel. The Mavericks’ rookie was previously a heavy favorite for most of the year, but amid his injury and the Hornets’ incredible run since the start of 2026, the Charlotte wing has since taken over as the expected winner of the award.
In 60 games this season, Knueppel is averaging a similar 19.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.5 assists to Flagg, but on more efficient 48.9/44/87.8 shooting splits. He also recently set the record for three-pointers made by a rookie, currently at 211 made, and is also the quickest to hit 200 career threes. In just his first NBA season, Knueppel has been compared to four-time NBA champion and future Hall of Famer Klay Thompson, a notable and so far apt comparison.
Another reason why Knueppel is currently the favorite over Flagg is due to team success. Charlotte has been one of the best teams (first in net rating) over the past two months, with a 30-31 record compared to Flagg and Dallas’s 21-39 record. However, the players each rookie is surrounded by likely plays a bigger factor than just their individual performances, but still, that might not swing the Rookie of the Year award voters.
As of Monday, March 2nd, according to DraftKings SportsBook, Knueppel is the favorite at -175, while Flagg is the underdog at +140, with VJ Edgecombe far behind at +10,000.
However, with Flagg still leading Kneuppel in average points and rebounds, a strong finish to the rest of the season, whenever he does return, could slide him back over his former teammate and roommate to be the favorite for the Rookie of the Year award.
Flagg: 20.4 PPG | 6.6 REB | 4.1 AST
Knueppel: 18.9 PPG | 5.5 REB | 3.6 AST
…yet Kon has the better odds to win Rookie of the Year.
Who you got?
But regardless of who wins the individual honor, both the Mavericks and Hornets struck gold with their first and fourth overall picks, respectively, in the 2025 NBA Draft.
Eli Gregorski is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy Sports. He has years of sports writing experience covering the NBA, NFL, college football and basketball, international soccer, and Formula One. He graduated from the University of Colorado Boulder, where he was the assistant sports editor for the award-winning CU Independent student publication. More about Eli Gregorski
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