Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd has made his feelings clear on who should win this season’s Rookie of the Year Award.
The Mavericks snatched up forward Cooper Flagg with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s NBA Draft following their bizarre Luka Doncic trade. While the former Duke star has had an impressive rookie season on a personal front, things haven’t been great overall.
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Kon Kneuppel of the Charlotte Hornets, Flagg’s former teammate at Duke, has passed him as the favorite for the ROTY award.
The guard is averaging 19.1 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game on 48.9 percent shooting from the field and 43.8 percent shooting from three. He’s also helping the Hornets fight for a postseason berth. They were No. 10 in the Eastern Conference as of this writing.
Charlotte Hornets forward Kon Kneuppel (7) blocks a pass intended for Toronto Raptors forward Collin Murray-Boyles (12) in the first half at Scotiabank Arena. Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images
(Dan Hamilton-Imagn Images)
Flagg, meanwhile, has averaged 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 28.6 percent from beyond the arc.
The Mavericks are 24-50 in the Western Conference and sit in 13th place.
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Jason Kidd Suggests Cooper Flagg Should Be the ROTY Favorite
Asked whether the Mavs would need to help their rookie win the award, Kidd agreed with the notion.
“Yeah, I think it’s a big priority that the organization pays attention to this,” he said, according to Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News. “But it’s not just the organization. This is a partnership, and Cooper has to be able to do his part. And he’s doing his part. He’s having a historic year as a rookie. When you put his numbers up against past rookies who have won the award, it’s clear-cut that it’s not even close that he is the one that will win Rookie of the Year.”
Kidd added that he thought Flagg should be selected over Kneuppel.
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“Everybody has their opinion on the vote, of popularity, of what the trend is,” the Mavericks coach continued. “And so nothing against the Kneuppel. He’s having a heck of a season. But when you look at the numbers…Cooper’s are as good as anybody’s.”
Of course, voters are likely to consider wins, which, when factored in, would greatly favor Kneuppel, with Charlotte 39-35 and still in the hunt for the playoffs.
It’s winding down to an interesting race.
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This story was originally published by Lindys Sports on Mar 29, 2026, where it first appeared in the NBA section. Add Lindys Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.