Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel have been named the Kia NBA Western and Eastern Conference Rookies of the Month for January.<\/p>\n
You have to go back seven years to find a stretch in which two young players dominated the NBA\u2019s Kia Rookie of the Month conference honors as completely as Dallas\u2019 Cooper Flagg and Charlotte\u2019s Kon Knueppel have this season<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n In the spring of 2018-19, Luka Don\u010di\u0107 (then with the Dallas Mavericks) and Trae Young (then with the Atlanta Hawks) each snagged three in a row from January through March, the former in the West, the latter in the East. Flagg and Knueppel have done that so far in 2025-26, their selections announced Tuesday.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n When it came time for voters to cast ballots for the Kia Rookie of the Year award, however, that appearance of a neck-and-neck race for the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy turned out to be anything but. <\/p>\n Don\u010di\u0107 ran away with the award, getting 98 of 100 first-place votes<\/a> and finishing with 496 points. Young got the other two firsts and was way back with 301 points. \u00a0<\/p>\n That pattern\u00a0won\u2019t\u00a0necessarily hold for Flagg and Knueppel, but it was clear over the past week that the top spot on the Kia Rookie Ladder would flip back to Flagg. The\u00a0Mavericks\u2019\u00a0forward\u00a0has been carrying his dinged-up team like a cornerstone guy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Since returning from a sore left ankle, Flagg has scored 49, 34 and 36 points in games against Charlotte, Houston and Boston, respectively. He grabbed 31 rebounds, dished 14 assists and made 45 of 78 shots (57.7%). He became the first teenager in league history to string together three games of 30 points or more.\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n That gives\u00a0Flagg\u00a0six games scoring at least\u00a030 to Knueppel\u2019s four (the rest of the Class of 2025 has a total of four).\u00a0The only downside to this hot stretch for Flagg has been losing all three games.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The showdown of the Ladder\u2019s top two rung-holders Thursday was thrilling<\/a>, both in real time and for what it portends for the next decade or so. Teammates and roommates at Duke last season, they could form an affable rivalry built on their individual competition as well as their teams\u2019 rising fortunes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Kon Knueppel knocks down free throws with 4.1 seconds remaining before Cooper Flagg missed the game-tying jumper as time expired.<\/p>\n Knueppel\u2019s crew has won seven in a row and is 12-6 in 2026. The Mavericks have sputtered but have hopes based on healing players. Knueppel scored 34 that night in Dallas so their combined 83 points were the most by opposing rookies since Tiny Archibald and Pete Maravich rang up 91 in March 1971. \u00a0<\/p>\n And arguably\u00a0the best moment of the night<\/a>\u00a0came from Flagg when he proved \u201cthe book,\u201d and voice-of-the-Hornets Eric Collins wrong.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Afterward, each had nothing but kudos for the other (like\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0here<\/a>), expressing admiration shared by many around the league.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Let the record show their rematch is set for March 3 in Charlotte, in what\u00a0conceivably could\u00a0be a pivotal game for ROY consideration.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Here\u00a0are the latest rankings on this week\u2019s\u00a0Ladder:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Weekly recap<\/p>\n For what it\u2019s worth, the last time just two guys hogged all the Kia Rookie of the Month acclaim through a season was in 2003-04, when Cleveland\u2019s LeBron James and Denver\u2019s Carmelo Anthony kept all others in their draft class from winning any.\u00a0 Storyline to watch\u00a0<\/p>\n Rising coaches at All-Star Weekend.\u00a0San Antonio\u2019s\u00a0Mitch Johnson\u00a0was named one of the coaches of the three All-Star squads<\/a> to compete in the USA vs. International tournament on All-Star Sunday. That put him in rare company as Johnson earned the honor in his first full season on the Spurs\u2019 sideline (he took over for legend Gregg Popovich five games into 2024-25). \u00a0<\/p>\n As for \u201ctrue rookies\u201d who have coached in the showcase game, Golden State\u2019s Steve Kerr was the most recent, getting there in the 2015 game in his debut season as an NBA coach, on his way to leading the Warriors to a 67-15 record and the first of four championships in eight years. Other \u201ctrue rookie\u201d All-Star coaches include Larry Bird (1998), Paul Westphal (1993), Chris Ford (1991) and Billy Cunningham (1978).\u00a0<\/p>\n Cleveland\u2019s Tyronne Lue was an All-Star coach in 2016 after taking over when David Blatt was fired<\/a> in January with a 30-11 record. In 1982, Pat Riley coached the first of his eight All-Star games as the Lakers\u2019 replacement for fired Paul Westhead. That\u2019s the same way Ed Macauley got there in 1959, taking over for Andy Phillip early in the season. \u00a0<\/p>\n When Avery Johnson went in 2006, it was like the Spurs coach \u2013 his first full season after taking over Dallas\u2019 reins the year before.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0(All\u00a0stats\u00a0through\u00a0Tuesday,\u00a0Feb. 3)\u00a0<\/p>\n 1. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks<\/p>\n Season\u00a0stats:<\/a> 20.1 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 4.2 apg Even before he put up 36 points on 12-for-24 shooting vs. the Celtics on Tuesday, Flagg had accomplished some statistical achievements. His 83 points and 22 boards on 61.1% shooting in consecutive outings against Charlotte and Houston matched Hall of Famers Bob McAdoo (March, 1973) and Walt Bellamy (January, 1962) as the only rookies to reach those marks over a two-game span. \u00a0<\/p>\n 2. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets<\/p>\n Season\u00a0stats:<\/a> 18.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 3.6 apg\u00a0 Knueppel seems a lock to set a record for most 3-pointers by an NBA rookie, since he already has hit 166 in 50 games (it took Steph Curry 80 games to reach 166 in his first season). The current record: 206 by the Sacramento Kings\u2019 Keegan Murray. A bonus for the Hornets forward last weekend: A German lesson<\/a>\u00a0from the great Dirk Nowitzki.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 3. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers<\/p>\n Season\u00a0stats:<\/a> 14.9 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 4.3 apg\u00a0 As the trade deadline neared, a headline in Philadelphia urged the Sixers not to deal away the rookie from the Bahamas, which hit like advising OKC not to ship Shai Gilgeous-Alexander back to the LA Clippers. No, duh!\u00a0Edgecombe \u2013 who ranks second in minutes, fourth in points, second in assists and first in steals in the Class of 2025 \u2013 is more essential than ever with Paul George\u00a0lost\u00a0to his 25-game substance suspension<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 4. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans<\/p>\n Season\u00a0stats:<\/a> 12.3 ppg, 7.4 rpg, 4.3 apg Many times the \u201cthreshold records\u201d cited in sports are as arbitrary as Congressional district maps, but in Queen\u2019s case, we\u2019ll make an exception: He is one of only three players since the NBA\/ABA merger 50 years ago to reach 600 points, 350 rebounds and 200 assists before playing in the 50th\u00a0game of his career. The others: Larry Bird and Ben Simmons.\u00a0The Pelicans\u2019 young center ranked fifth, first and first in those categories through Monday\u2019s action.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 5. Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies<\/p>\n Season\u00a0stats:<\/a> 13.8 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 2.9 apg Coward\u2019s all-around, two-way game can make him hard to classify, but\u00a0earns him lofty comparisons<\/a>\u00a0among young guys who\u00a0take similar approaches.\u00a0He punctuated the Grizzlies\u2019 home victory<\/a>\u00a0Monday over Minnesota, wrapping his 20th\u00a0double-figure scoring night in his past 23 performances.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The next 5<\/p>\n 6. Egor D\u00ebmin, Brooklyn Nets\u00a0<\/p>\n Season\u00a0stats:<\/a> 10.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.3 apg Despite ranking 16th in fourth-quarter minutes among the rookies, D\u00ebmin was tied with Charlotte\u2019s Knueppel for the most 3-pointers (32) in that final period. And he was hitting 43.2% from deep in the fourth to Knueppel\u2019s 36%. His 25-point, 10-rebound, six 3-point performance at Utah on Friday was the first at those thresholds by any Brooklyn rookie. \u00a0<\/p>\n 7. Caleb Love, Portland Trail Blazers\u00a0<\/p>\n Season\u00a0stats:<\/a> \u00a011.4\u00a0ppg, 2.7\u00a0rpg, 2.7\u00a0apg Love\u2019s 40 3-pointers in January came within two of the Blazers\u2019 rookie record for any month, set by Damian Lillard in March 2013.\u00a0The undrafted Arizona guard\u00a0had scored\u00a010+ points in 19 of 21 games heading into Portland\u2019s clash with Phoenix Tuesday, good for 15.3 ppg and 36.7% on threes.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 8. Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings\u00a0<\/p>\n Season\u00a0stats:<\/a> 9.6 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.0 apg In a pair of starts over the weekend, the 7-foot-1 Parisian totaled 28 points and 20 rebounds, hitting 12-for-16 shots with three blocks. Raynaud leads all second-round picks in points and rebounds, while ranking second in minutes. \u00a0<\/p>\n 9. Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs\u00a0<\/p>\n Season\u00a0stats:<\/a> 10.7 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.5 apg Harper\u2019s bench role behind De\u2019Aaron Fox and Stephon Castle has limited him to 21.4 minutes nightly. But if\u00a0you\u00a0pro-rate his production to 36 minutes,\u00a0he\u2019s\u00a0averaging\u00a018.1 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.9 assists. He took the showdown of Nos. 2 and 4 picks Saturday seriously, with a Spurs-leading 20 points to Knueppel\u2019s 13 in Charlotte.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n 10. Ace Bailey, Utah Jazz<\/p>\n Season\u00a0stats:<\/a> 11.2 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 1.6 apg\u00a0 Bailey\u00a0has this\u00a0rung\u00a0to himself\u00a0after a January in which he averaged 13.8 points and 5.3 rebounds, shooting 49.3%, and was a nominee for West Rookie of the Month. Of his six games of 20-plus points, three came in November, three in the final\u00a011 days\u00a0of January.\u00a0<\/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
\nA couple bad takes from savvy former players: Udonis Haslem on Amazon Prime quibbled with Flagg and Knueppel, favoring Philadelphia\u2019s VJ Edgecombe for being a \u201ctwo-way player.\u201d In fact, Flagg\u2019s aggressive defense has been one of the surprising constants in his play this season. Then there was Jamal Mashburn suggesting that Flagg, if he were coming out of college this spring in the deep Class of 2026, would not be a Top 5 selection. Given what the Dallas savior has done as a 19-year-old against grown men this season, it seems like a gross underestimation.
\nThe first five players chosen last June are in this week\u2019s Ladder, as are six of the top eight selections and eight lottery picks. But the elite company also features a second-round pick (Maxime Raynaud) and someone the talent scouts whiffed on completely (Caleb Love).\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 2 \u2b06\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 1\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 1
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 4\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 3 \u2194\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 3\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 5 \u2b06\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 13\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 4 \u2b07\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 11\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a>\u00a0No. 9 \u2b06\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 8\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last Ladder: <\/a>No. 6 \u2b07\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a> Undrafted\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> No. 7 \u2b07\ufe0f
Draft pick:\u00a0<\/a>No. 42\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> Not ranked \u2b06\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 2\u00a0<\/p>\n
Last Ladder:<\/a> T-10 \u2194\ufe0f
Draft pick:<\/a>\u00a0No. 5\u00a0<\/p>\n