A closer look at Kon Knueppel’s rookie season, which includes breaking a few records.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s no reason to bury the lead, as we say in the news business.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
This is the final\u00a0Kia Rookie Ladder of 2025-26, which by recent tradition means it\u00a0essentially\u00a0is\u00a0one voter\u2019s ballot reveal for the NBA\u2019s Rookie of the Year and its first and second All-Rookie teams.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Here are the Top 3 choices:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets\u00a0
\n Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks
\n VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers\u00a0<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll get to the All-Rookie picks in a bit, as well as the rationale for the above order. For now, there are a few things worth noting:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
There is no institutional heft to this. The Ladder committee has one member, who is just one of the 100 media voters invited by the NBA to cast ballots for each of its annual awards and honors. There has been no influence or direction from the league\u2019s executive or ownership branches on any Ladder picks, at any point this season or particularly this week.\u00a0
\nMore than most seasons, a ROY tie might feel appropriate for this year\u2019s top two contenders: They\u2019re friends, supportive of each other, who have made their impacts this season playing different styles in vastly different situations. \u00a0<\/p>\n
Any\u00a0tie, though,\u00a0would need to happen organically because the voting rules prohibit splitting one\u2019s votes. It\u00a0is\u00a0possible the votes could break 50-50,\u00a0and the league does make all\u00a0voters and their selections publicly available once the award winner is announced.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
There have been four ROY ties: Elton Brand and Steve Francis in 1999-00, Grant Hill and Jason Kidd in 1994-95, Geoff Petrie and Dave Cowens in 1970-71, and Mel Hutchins and Bill Tosheff in 1951-52.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More players picked No. 1 overall (23) have earned the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy as the league\u2019s top newcomer than those from any other draft position. But as a group, the other 59 winners (including ties) were not\u00a0drafted first overall. That\u2019s a breakdown of 28% vs. 72%, suggesting the smarter bet is to take the field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To\u00a0gauge\u00a0the arc of these\u00a0guys\u2019\u00a0rise and fall, let\u2019s glimpse back\u00a0at\u00a0the\u00a0season\u2019s\u00a0first Ladder, posted\u00a0eight days in\u00a0on\u00a0Oct. 29, 2025:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dallas\u2019 Cooper Flagg hasn\u2019t done anything to dim his prospects of earning the NBA\u2019s Rookie of the Year award by season\u2019s end. But a handful of his Class of 2025 draft mates have started strongly enough to brighten their own chances \u2026 \u00a0<\/p>\n
This week\u2019s debut Kia Rookie Ladder verifies that, with Flagg\u00a0[at]\u00a0No. 4 in a nod to the opening weeks turned in by his rivals.\u00a0\u2026 We\u2019re seeing a deep crop of viable ROY contenders, who might push and inspire each other in competition to even greater accomplishments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Cooper Flagg becomes the first teenager to score 50+ points in an NBA game by setting a new career-high with 51 vs. the Magic.<\/p>\n
It turns out, the\u00a0spirited\u00a0competition between two recent\u00a0Duke products\u00a0was enough to\u00a0dial up the intensity and interest.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Flagg was the marquee name upon arrival,\u00a0a 6-foot-9 forward from Newport, Maine, who entered as the league\u2019s youngest player but produced like anything but.\u00a0Because of his age \u2013 he didn\u2019t turn 19 until Dec. 21 \u2013 he took on not just his fellow rookies but some of the most successful teenagers in NBA history to hit a series of \u201cyoungest\u201d and \u201cfirst\u201d thresholds. Catching or surpassing the likes of Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Luka Don\u010di\u0107.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Normally that might have been enough. Flagg\u00a0had some explosive, spectacular performances as the lone Dallas attraction on many nights. His\u00a0counting stats, as they\u2019re called,\u00a0ranked at or near the top<\/a>\u00a0of his class: 21.1 points per game (1), 6.6\u00a0rpg\u00a0(3), 4.6\u00a0apg\u00a0(2), 1.2 steals per game (2), and 0.9 blocks per game (2).\u00a0(All\u00a0stats\u00a0through Monday, April 6.)\u00a0<\/p>\n But the ROY race with Knueppel turned into an NBA version of the \u201ctortoise and the hare\u201d fable. Only in this case, Flagg didn\u2019t nap like the overconfident hare \u2013 he missed eight consecutive games heading into and out of the All-Star break (left midfoot sprain), 12 overall so far. And Knueppel is no tortoise, just a less hyped yet highly consistent hare\u00a0who used stretch to close the gap and edge ahead.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Knueppel\u2019s traditional stats \u2013 18.7 ppg, 5.3\u00a0rpg, 3.4\u00a0apg, 0.7\u00a0spg, 0.2\u00a0bpg\u00a0\u2013 all yield to Flagg\u2019s. But the\u00a0margins aren\u2019t huge. At 2.4 points, 1.3 boards and 1.2 assists, he\u2019s about a low-level, two-way player\u2019s contribution away from Flagg.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Equalize their results for minutes played and the difference \u2013 1.0 point, 0.9 rebound and 1.0 assist per 36 \u2013 is about what Milwaukee gets from Thanasis Antetokounmpo on an average night.\u00a0When Flagg scores 20 points or more, Dallas is 15-17. When Knueppel does it, Charlotte is 19-17.\u00a0<\/p>\n Where Knueppel has shined has been in his availability, his 3-point prowess, his efficiency and his impact on Charlotte\u2019s surprising success.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The 6-foot-6 guard\/forward from Milwaukee has missed only one game, helping him shatter the NBA record for 3-pointers by a rookie \u2013 265 with three games left, blowing by Keegan Murray\u2019s 206 in 2022-23 \u2013 and lead the league overall. He is making them at 43% rate, averaging 3.4 makes on 7.9 attempts.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n His accuracy already is elite. Knueppel ranks second among rookies to his 7-foot teammate and paint presence Ryan Kalkbrenner in both\u00a0effective\u00a0field-goal percentage (60.8%) and true shooting (64%). Flagg, owing to his 29.7% 3-point shooting, ranks 18th\u00a0(50.4%) and 14th\u00a0(55.2%) respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n Let\u2019s talk about doing more with less: Knueppel\u2019s\u00a0average time of possession<\/a>\u00a0is 2.48 minutes per game, which means he has the ball about 8% of his time on the court. Flagg runs the show far more for Dallas with half again as much time of possession, 4.3 minutes or 12.7%.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Mavericks rookie stays in possession an average of 3.74 seconds per touch, with 3.02 dribbles. Knueppel moves it after 2.48 seconds and 1.98 dribbles.\u00a0More of his field goals<\/a>\u00a0are assisted vs. Flagg\u2019s.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Want to equalize some more? Flagg could stack up eight scoreless games and still be averaging more points than Knueppel. But Knueppel could miss his next 276 shots from the arc and still be hitting a better rate than Flagg.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The biggest reason for choosing Knueppel over Flagg, though, is the impact of each young player\u2019s game on his team.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Some might argue that \u201cwinning isn\u2019t important with rookies\u201d since the best ones often end up on bad teams. But that\u2019s the point of the draft, isn\u2019t it? To deliver help to the teams that need it, ASAP? And at a time when NBA coaches dole out All-Star reserve spots based on whether the candidates\u2019 team is winning or not \u2013 for a meaningless entertainment event \u2013 it\u2019s disingenuous to think winning should factor into ROY competition.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Consider: Of the past 25 Rookie winners, 19 of them helped their teams win more that season than in the prior year. Only three saw their team\u2019s W-L record slide backwards.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yet heading into Tuesday\u2019s slate of games, Charlotte had more than doubled its victory total from last year, from 19 to 43. Dallas, despite adding the No. 1 pick and potentially a generational talent, has lost 14 more than last season. The Hornets are 43-35 in the games their rookie has played compared to the Mavs\u2019 21-45 in their\u00a0guy\u2019s\u00a0appearances.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Critics can say Knueppel air-dropped into a better situation but, seriously, the Hornets? It\u2019s\u00a0just as\u00a0likely his addition at No. 4 overall could have led to a\u00a0tug\u00a0o\u2019war\u00a0over touches and shots with young vets LaMelo Ball, Brandon Miller and Miles Bridges.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Instead, Charlotte has been a well-oiled machine since the calendar flipped to 2026. They are 32-13 since Jan. 2, with the\u00a0NBA\u2019s best offensive rating<\/a>\u00a0from that point (121.2), fourth-best defensive rating (109.5) and top net rating (11.7).\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Both Knueppel\u2019s game and his personality have provided glue and gravity for a team\u00a0discovering\u00a0its potential.\u00a0His individual ratings reflect it<\/a>: 119.4, 112.9 and +6.5, with an overall plus\/minus of +326.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Flagg, in a disjointed Dallas season, is at 109.1, 114.8, -5.7 and -275. And his remarkable weekend with a combined 96 points Friday vs. Orlando and Sunday vs. Lakers, with eight days left in the season, swayed Las Vegas oddsmakers but didn\u2019t eclipse Knueppel\u2019s body of work for the Ladder. Or one ballot.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Mavericks are trying to help their rookie win an award while diving for more lottery balls, with Flagg almost detached from that\u00a0group project. The\u00a0Hornets are trying to win Knueppel an award by winning. And he is integral to it.\u00a0<\/p>\n Here are my picks for the first and second units (which are never position-specific, and thus can be listed here in final Ladder order):\u00a0<\/p>\n All-Rookie First Team<\/p>\n Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets All-Rookie Second Team<\/p>\n Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies\u00a0 Honorable mentions: Toronto\u2019s Collin Murray-Boyles, Brooklyn\u2019s Egor D\u00ebmin, Dallas\u2019 Ryan Nembhard, Charlotte\u2019s Ryan Kalkbrenner, and Boston\u2019s Hugo Gonz\u00e1lez.\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>.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nCooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks\u00a0
\nVJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers\u00a0
\nDerek Harper, San Antonio Spurs
\nMaxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings\u00a0<\/p>\n
\nAce Bailey, Utah Jazz\u00a0
\nDerik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans\u00a0
\nJeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans
\nTre Johnson, Washington Wizards\u00a0<\/p>\n