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Kon Knueppel is No. 3 in the NBA in total 3-pointers made this season (143).<\/p>\n
It\u2019s AWS Rivals Week<\/a> in the NBA, and there\u2019s nothing a rivalry benefits more from than some real action.<\/p>\n In the case of this week\u2019s Kia Rookie Ladder, that action comes at the top, with Charlotte\u2019s Kon Knueppel edging past Dallas\u2019 Cooper Flagg for the No. 1 spot in the weekly rankings.<\/p>\n The two 2024-25 Duke teammates are friends in everyday life, \u201crivals\u201d only for Ladder purposes, and, in a few months, are likely to be \u201crivals\u201d again in the Kia Rookie of the Year balloting. Knueppel and Flagg have owned the No. 1-2 spots all season here, flipping once before, now flipping back.<\/p>\n Knueppel got the nod this week after averaging 19 points, 7.3 rebounds and three assists while shooting 60% overall, 64.3% from the arc and 100% from the foul line since the last Ladder. It didn\u2019t hurt that the Hornets went 2-1 and are 5-5 in 2026.<\/p>\n Flagg averaged 12 points over the past week while missing two games with a sprained ankle and shot 43.5%.<\/p>\n Here\u00a0are the latest rankings on this week\u2019s\u00a0Ladder:<\/p>\n Weekly recap<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0Not that he needed consolation, but when the voting results came in for All-Star starters<\/a> in the Feb. 15 NBA All-Star Game, Flagg finished 17th among Western Conference players. His 360,506 votes from the fans were more than the Utah Jazz\u2019s Lauri Markkanen, the Golden State Warriors\u2019 Jimmy Butler or the Oklahoma City Thunder\u2019s Chet Holmgren, among others. Flagg reportedly also got two votes from the NBA players to start in the game. (Bronny James reportedly got two votes to be a starter, too, showing how seriously some players take their voting privilege.)<\/p>\n \u2022\u00a0The category leaders for the past week, games played since Jan. 14<\/a>, were: Utah\u2019s Ace Bailey, points, 71; Sacramento\u2019s Dylan Cardwell, rebounds, 37; Utah\u2019s Walter Clayton Jr., assists, 27, Portland\u2019s Caleb Love, steals, six; and Dallas\u2019 Moussa Cisse, blocked shots, seven.<\/p>\n Storyline to watch<\/p>\n One Wizards\u2019 accuracy:\u00a0In a dreary season for the Wizards, guard Tre Johnson has a minor shot to make some NBA rookie history. At 44.6% shooting overall, 39.1% on 3-pointers and 88.5% from the foul line, he could become the first shooter to join the vaunted 50\/40\/90 club in his debut season.<\/p>\n (All stats through\u00a0Tuesday,\u00a0Jan.\u00a020)<\/p>\n 1. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 19 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.5 apg Knueppel tied Luka Don\u010di\u0107 as the two fastest players in NBA history to amass 100 2-point field goals, 100 3-pointers and 100 free throws. His 143 threes so far this season rank third<\/a> behind the Golden State Warriors\u2019 Stephen Curry (154) and the Cleveland Cavaliers\u2019 Donovan Mitchell (153).<\/p>\n 2. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a>\u00a018.8\u00a0ppg, 6.3\u00a0rpg,\u00a04.1\u00a0apg No sooner had we written about Flagg and Knueppel\u2019s durability in the last Ladder than Flagg sprained an ankle at Denver that night and missed two games. But\u00a0he fired back admirably<\/a>\u00a0Monday with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the Mavericks\u2019\u00a0rout\u00a0of New York at Madison Square Garden.<\/p>\n 3. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 15.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.2 apg A heated\u00a0intra-backcourt exchange<\/a>\u00a0featuring Edgecombe and All-Star teammate Tyrese Maxey got some play on social media. But Sixers coach Nick Nurse took it\u00a0as a positive<\/a>. \u201cThey were doing it in a competitive, \u2018let\u2019s\u00a0get it right\u2019 thing for sure,\u201d Nurse said.<\/p>\n 4. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a>\u00a012.6\u00a0ppg,\u00a07.5\u00a0rpg,\u00a04.3\u00a0apg Getting greedier on the boards was kind of a resolution for Queen and, sure enough, five of his 11 double-digit rebound games have come in the past two weeks. He has averaged 10.7 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 5.4 assists in January, while showcasing point-center skills\u00a0like these<\/a>.<\/p>\n 5. Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 14 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.9 apg Coward, who is a plus-46 over his past five games, while the Grizzlies are plus-8, gave a solid answer<\/a> when asked recently about the dreaded rookie \u201cwall.\u201d Later he admitted there was a little something extra<\/a> to his bravado.<\/p>\n The next 5<\/p>\n 6. Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings<\/p>\n Season stats:\u00a0<\/a>10.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.1 apg\u00a0 Raynaud and fellow rookie Dylan Cardwell are job-sharing nicely, combining last week for 14 points, 15.3 rebounds and 3.3 assists in almost 46 minutes. Which means Domantas Sabonis\u2019 return Friday<\/a> from his two-month injury layoff creates a bit of a logjam. And fuels trade speculation.<\/p>\n 7. Egor D\u00ebmin, Brooklyn Nets <\/p>\n Season stats<\/a>:\u00a010.4 ppg, 3 rpg, 3.4 apg D\u00ebmin\u2019s minutes dropped in the two games before Monday, which he sat out for \u201cinjury management\u201d reasons. His 3-point proficiency continues, but coach Jordi Fernandez wants to see the 6-foot-8 Russian consistently play more physically.<\/p>\n 8. Caleb Love, Portland Trail Blazers\u00a0<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a>\u00a011.1 ppg, 2.7\u00a0rpg, 2.6\u00a0apg Love has averaged 16.2 points and hit 39.3% of his 3-pointers during Portland\u2019s current 10-3 stretch. But\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0get carried away thinking of him as\u00a0an overlooked gem from<\/a>\u00a0last spring\u2019s Draft.<\/p>\n 9. Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans\u00a0<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a>\u00a013.9\u00a0ppg, 3.7\u00a0rpg,\u00a03.2\u00a0apg Slips a spot after an\u00a0off-week, but Fears was\u00a0willing to take advice<\/a>\u00a0from a teammate\/big brother on the Pelicans. He ranks second in total steals and\u00a0turnovers, and\u00a0has scored 20+ nine times.<\/p>\n 10. Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs\u00a0<\/p>\n Season stats:<\/a> 10.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.6 apg Back on the Ladder after a strong week, Harper\u00a0hasn\u2019t\u00a0put up gaudy numbers but continues to\u00a0improve in subtle ways<\/a>. Not that it has stopped everybody from second-guessing his pick.<\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him\u00a0here<\/a>, find\u00a0his archive here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0follow him on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 2 \u2b06\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 4<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 1 \u2b07\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 1<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 3 \u2194\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 3<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 4 \u2194\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 13<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 5 \u2194\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 11<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 6 \u2194\ufe0f
Draft pick:\u00a0<\/a>No. 42<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a>\u00a0No. 7 \u2194\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 8<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:\u00a0<\/a>No. 9 \u2b06\ufe0f
Draft pick:\u00a0<\/a>Undrafted<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 8 \u2b07\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 7<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> Not ranked \u2b06\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 2<\/p>\n