Kon Knueppel is No. 3 in the NBA in total 3-pointers made this season (143).
It’s AWS Rivals Week in the NBA, and there’s nothing a rivalry benefits more from than some real action.
In the case of this week’s Kia Rookie Ladder, that action comes at the top, with Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel edging past Dallas’ Cooper Flagg for the No. 1 spot in the weekly rankings.
The two 2024-25 Duke teammates are friends in everyday life, “rivals” only for Ladder purposes, and, in a few months, are likely to be “rivals” 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.
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’t hurt that the Hornets went 2-1 and are 5-5 in 2026.
Flagg averaged 12 points over the past week while missing two games with a sprained ankle and shot 43.5%.
Here are the latest rankings on this week’s Ladder:
Weekly recap
• Not that he needed consolation, but when the voting results came in for All-Star starters 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’s Lauri Markkanen, the Golden State Warriors’ Jimmy Butler or the Oklahoma City Thunder’s 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.)
• The category leaders for the past week, games played since Jan. 14, were: Utah’s Ace Bailey, points, 71; Sacramento’s Dylan Cardwell, rebounds, 37; Utah’s Walter Clayton Jr., assists, 27, Portland’s Caleb Love, steals, six; and Dallas’ Moussa Cisse, blocked shots, seven.
Storyline to watch
One Wizards’ accuracy: In 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.
(All stats through Tuesday, Jan. 20)
1. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets
Season stats: 19 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.5 apg
Last Ladder: No. 2 ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 4
Knueppel tied Luka Dončić 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 behind the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry (154) and the Cleveland Cavaliers’ Donovan Mitchell (153).
2. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
Season stats: 18.8 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 4.1 apg
Last Ladder: No. 1 ⬇️
Draft pick: No. 1
No sooner had we written about Flagg and Knueppel’s durability in the last Ladder than Flagg sprained an ankle at Denver that night and missed two games. But he fired back admirably Monday with 18 points, seven rebounds and three assists in the Mavericks’ rout of New York at Madison Square Garden.
3. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers
Season stats: 15.8 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.2 apg
Last Ladder: No. 3 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 3
A heated intra-backcourt exchange featuring Edgecombe and All-Star teammate Tyrese Maxey got some play on social media. But Sixers coach Nick Nurse took it as a positive. “They were doing it in a competitive, ‘let’s get it right’ thing for sure,” Nurse said.
4. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans
Season stats: 12.6 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 4.3 apg
Last Ladder: No. 4 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 13
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 like these.
5. Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies
Season stats: 14 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.9 apg
Last Ladder: No. 5 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 11
Coward, who is a plus-46 over his past five games, while the Grizzlies are plus-8, gave a solid answer when asked recently about the dreaded rookie “wall.” Later, he admitted there was a little something extra to his bravado.
The next 5
6. Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings
Season stats: 10.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 1.1 apg
Last Ladder: No. 6 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 42
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’ return Friday from his two-month injury layoff creates a bit of a logjam. And fuels trade speculation.
7. Egor Dëmin, Brooklyn Nets
Season stats: 10.4 ppg, 3 rpg, 3.4 apg
Last Ladder: No. 7 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 8
Dëmin’s minutes dropped in the two games before Monday, which he sat out for “injury management” reasons. His 3-point proficiency continues, but coach Jordi Fernandez wants to see the 6-foot-8 Russian consistently play more physically.
8. Caleb Love, Portland Trail Blazers
Season stats: 11.1 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.6 apg
Last Ladder: No. 9 ⬆️
Draft pick: Undrafted
Love has averaged 16.2 points and hit 39.3% of his 3-pointers during Portland’s current 10-3 stretch. But don’t get carried away thinking of him as an overlooked gem from last spring’s Draft.
9. Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans
Season stats: 13.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 3.2 apg
Last Ladder: No. 8 ⬇️
Draft pick: No. 7
Slips a spot after an off-week, but Fears was willing to take advice from a teammate/big brother on the Pelicans. He ranks second in total steals and turnovers, and has scored 20+ nine times.
10. Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs
Season stats: 10.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.6 apg
Last Ladder: Not ranked ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 2
Back on the Ladder after a strong week, Harper hasn’t put up gaudy numbers but continues to improve in subtle ways. Not that it has stopped everybody from second-guessing his pick vs. the No. 4 guy.
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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.