The Rookie of the Year race was already razor-thin, but a blunt, two-word response from Jason Kidd may have just shifted the momentum. Ahead of Friday’s game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Kidd confirmed that Cooper Flagg is unlikely to return before the Dallas Mavericks face the Charlotte Hornets on March 3, prompting an extended absence for the rookie as he recovers from a left mid-foot sprain.

When asked whether Flagg could return in time to face Kon Knueppel, his former Duke teammate and a fellow Rookie of the Year contender, Kidd didn’t leave much room for optimism. “Probably not,” Kidd said. The brief response not only confirmed Flagg will miss his sixth straight game, but it also created a growing opportunity for Knueppel to gain ground in a Rookie of the Year race where availability and late-season momentum often make the difference.

Flagg has been out of the Mavs lineup before the All-Star Weekend. He suffered the injury on Feb. 10 during the loss to the Phoenix Suns. He was eventually sidelined for the Rising Stars Game during the All-Star Weekend on Feb. 13. With Flagg already missing his 10th game of the season on Friday, his potential win in the Rookie of the Year Award race is in serious jeopardy.

Although the 65-game rule under the 2023 Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) doesn’t apply to ROTY, Flagg’s absence will still hurt his chances because the race has been close since the beginning of the season. For all season long, Flagg has been leading the race over Knueppel. However, according to the latest update from BetMGM, both rookie stars are now tied at the top with (-115) to claim the award.

Dallas initially expected their rookie to return right after the All-Star break. However, it has taken much longer than that. However, the good news is that the injury will likely not keep Flagg out for much longer. 

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After the injury, Flagg made his first public appearance in a walking boot. However, since then, he’s been without it and has even participated in on-court activities. The Mavs have started to list him as day-to-day on the injury report.

During Copper Flagg’s absence, Kon Knueppel has been making his presence felt

After the All-Star break, Knueppel has been on a tear. His run has coincided with the same time when Flagg has been dealing with a foot injury, and the same timeline is now changing the narrative around rookies, at least for the award consideration. In the last five games that Flagg has missed, Knueppel has averaged 25.0 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.2 steals per game. During this time, the Hornets’ rookie has also shot 55.1% from the field and 54.2% from the 3-point line.

In his last game, Knueppel created NBA history for the most 3-pointers by a rookie in a season. He broke Keegan Murray’s 206 made 3-pointers during the 2022-23 season. What is even more impressive is that Knueppel has done it in just 59 games, while Murray took 80 games to reach that record.

As far as their team goes, Knueppel’s Hornets are in a better position than Flagg’s Mavericks. His team badly needs tanking to move up in the lottery picks in the next draft. The Hornets have a 7-3 record in the last 10 games. In contrast to Dallas, which is currently out of the Play-In Tournament, the Hornets are the 10th seed with a chance to make the playoffs for the first time in a decade.

As the season approaches its end, Knueppel’s 19.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per contest are proving more significant than Flagg’s 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists. But is it the end of the ROTY race? Probably not. When Cooper returns, the race is set to intensify.