Last season’s Rookie of the Year race never really developed tension. This one has turned into a genuine argument across the league. Two former Duke teammates, Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel, have separated from the rest of the 2025 class and forced voters to decide what they value more: elite efficiency in a strong structure or total responsibility inside chaos.

Dallas drafted Flagg first overall after landing the top pick with only a 1.8 percent lottery chance. Charlotte grabbed Knueppel at No. 4 and immediately plugged him into a functional offense alongside LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. The box score gap between them is narrow. The impact gap is not.

Flagg averages 20.4 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 4.1 assists while defending every position on the floor. Knueppel sits just behind him in scoring while shooting over 43 percent from three and threatening the rookie three-point record. On paper, this looks like a coin flip. On the court, it has never been one.

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Knueppel has been outstanding, and pretending otherwise weakens the argument. His shooting is historically efficient for a rookie on real volume. Charlotte built lineups that stretch defenses because it punishes every help rotation. He does not need the ball to impact a possession, which is rare for a first-year player.

He also contributes to winning basketball. The Hornets compete for a play in spot while running a clean offensive system. His role is clear. Run off screens, space the floor, make fast decisions. That reliability matters, and voters always respect rookies who help functional teams.

But that clarity is also the limit of his case.

Knueppel thrives inside structure. Others create the advantage. He finishes it. That is a valuable archetype, and he performs it at an elite level. Rookie of the Year is not awarded for mastering a role. It is awarded for defining a franchise.

Why Flagg is An Easy Pick for ROTY

The Mavericks planned to ease Flagg into the league next to Kyrie Irving and Anthony Davis. Instead, Irving missed the season, and Davis was traded after 20 games. The offense collapsed into a single responsibility: give the ball to a 19-year-old and survive.

Dallas sits near the bottom of the standings, but context matters. Flagg is not playing poorly on a bad team. He is the reason the team functions at all. Every defense loads toward him. Every late clock possession ends with him. His usage rate reflects a primary engine, not a rookie learning curve.

That responsibility explains the efficiency gap between the two players. Knueppel benefits from the defensive gravity created by Ball. Flagg creates the gravity himself. When a teenager still averages over 20 points on solid efficiency under constant pressure, that is star production, not rookie production.

The defensive separation ends the debate. Flagg averages 1.2 steals and 0.8 blocks and routinely protects the rim as a forward. He guards wings, switches onto guards and rotates as a back line helper. Knueppel competes defensively, but he does not change possessions. Flagg changes entire possessions.

Then came the January matchup between Dallas and Charlotte. Flagg scored 49 points, the most ever by a teenager in franchise history, carrying every offensive possession. Knueppel hit clutch free throws to win the game. That single night captured the award race perfectly. Knueppel executed winning plays. Flagg bent the game around his presence.

Historically, voters reward the player who demonstrates franchise-altering ability. The league has done it for decades. Individual burden outweighs team record when the talent clearly projects as an organizational foundation.

Knueppel has delivered one of the best shooting rookie seasons in recent memory and deserves serious recognition. He plays winning basketball and fits perfectly into Charlotte’s offense.

Flagg, however, performs the hardest job in basketball every night. He scores, creates, defends, and absorbs the entire defensive game plan. Dallas asks him to be a primary option, a secondary playmaker, and a defensive anchor simultaneously, and he answers.

I think the distinction is simple. Knueppel is already an elite complementary piece. Flagg is already the identity of a franchise.

Rookie of the Year goes to the player shaping the league’s future, not the player fitting neatly into the present. Cooper Flagg is not just the frontrunner. He is the clear and deserved winner.