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Cooper Flagg wins ROY
Dallas Mavericks No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg is the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year, the league announced on Monday.
Flagg’s victory marks one of the most tightly-contested award races in recent memory. The Mavericks‘ rookie beat out his former Duke teammate, No. 4 overall pick Kon Knueppel, to secure the trophy.
The Mavericks star averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game, joining Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Luka Doncic as the only rookies to average at least 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists in the 50 seasons since the NBA-ABA merger.
Flagg set the record for most points scored by a teenager with a 49-point showing in January against Knueppel and the Hornets.
His 49-point showing broke the Dallas Mavericks‘ rookie record he shared with Mark Aguirre, whose No. 24 was retired in a halftime ceremony during the game.
After narrowly missing the mark against Charlotte, Flagg in April became the youngest NBA player to score 50 points.
He is the only teenager in league history to record a 50-point game.
Flagg becomes the third Maverick to win Rookie of the Year. He joins his coach, Jason Kidd, who shared the award with Grant Hill in 1995, one of the rare times when there has been a tie.
In 2018, Luka Doncic was a landslide winner (98 of 100 first-place votes).
Through 70 games, he averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game, leading the Mavericks in all of those categories. He was the first rookie since Michael Jordan in 1985 to lead his team in all four areas.
“I knew he was a great player coming in, but what he’s (done) this year has been amazing,” P.J. Washington said. “I don’t think anybody thought he was going to be like this. He’s a generational player. He can do pretty much everything out there.”
Flagg’s win marks the third time in the past four years that the No. 1 overall pick has won Rookie of the Year.
San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama won it in 2024 and Orlando’s Paolo Banchero won in 2023. Last season, Spurs guard Stephon Castle, drafted fourth, took home the award.
The Dallas Mavericks celebrated Flagg’s achievement on social media.
“One of none. Cooper Flagg is the 2025-26 Rookie of the Year,” the team wrote.
“Congrats Coop! Through all the ups and downs this season, you kept pushing forward. The mental toughness shows,” a user commented.
“Next American to MVP,” another user predicted.
“The best rookie since Jordan. Congrats Coop!” someone replied under the Mavericks official Instagram tribute to Flagg.
Flagg received 56 first-place votes for the award. His college roommate, Kon Knueppel, finished as the runner-up for the award with 43 first-place votes. Despite appearing in fewer games, Flagg scored more total points (412) than Knueppel (386).
Now, after the rookie phenom established himself as an NBA star, the Mavericks will build around Flagg this summer.
The Dallas Mavericks have the 8th-best odds in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery. They hold a 6.7 percent chance to land the No. 1 overall pick and a 29 percent chance to move into the top four.
Jalyn Smoot Jalyn Smoot is a sports journalist covering the NBA for Heavy.com. He has nearly 10 years of experience in local and national media, including print and digital. He previously covered the Texas Rangers for MLB.com and the Philadelphia 76ers for Metro Philadelphia. Smoot is a St. Louis born writer that now resides in Dallas. More about Jalyn Smoot
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