looking back on this<\/a> as a pretty special thing,\u201d Flagg said after the game.<\/p>\nAlthough Flagg remains the heavy favorite to win NBA Rookie of the Year, Knueppel\u2019s stats are comparable, if not better given his shooting acumen.<\/p>\n
Flagg is averaging 19.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game for Dallas, while shooting 29% from 3-point range. Knueppel is averaging 18.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 0.7 steals while shooting 42.9% on 3s.<\/p>\n
Knueppel said he and Flagg remain in communication, but haven’t discussed the battle for top rookie. A self-proclaimed basketball junkie, Knueppel spends most of his free time watching other NBA games, and has paid close attention to his former Duke teammate’s accomplishments.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe see the game in the same way. Cooper makes his teammates better and we talk about that \u2014 how to help the team,\u201d Knueppel said. \u201cHe’s a guy that likes to do it as a whole. He’s not out there to get his, per say. He wants to do it the right way.\u201d<\/p>\n
Golden State coach Steve Kerr recently compared Knueppel to Warriors legend Chris Mullin.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally good size on the wing, big strong body, catch-and-shoot, but also incredible IQ, passing, making the right play over and over again. He\u2019s already a really, really (darn) good player,\u201d Kerr said. \u201cHe\u2019s got a knack, he\u2019s got a feel for the game, you can tell. And the pump fake and the sidestep three to turn a decent three into a great three that\u2019s just feel. And the poise that he has on the floor is really impressive.\u201d<\/p>\n
Kerr praised Knueppel’s movement without the basketball, and his ability to free himself up for open looks.<\/p>\n
It’s a skill Knueppel learned while growing up in Milwaukee and playing in a men’s league run by his father.<\/p>\n
The league includes an eight-team draft with three different sessions during the year. Knueppel began playing in the eighth grade. Facing older, taller and more physical competition, he quickly learned the importance of moving without the ball and getting his shot off quickly.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat is an area, especially in our country, that is a struggle with the young players,\u201d said Knueppel, who like Flagg has twice won NBA Rookie of the Month. “They don’t know how to move off the basketball. And that really, really helps you at this level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knueppel said that has gotten tougher for him as the season has progressed with opposing teams paying closer attention to where he’s at on the floor.<\/p>\n
But he’s continued to flourish, while remaining remarkably consistent. He and Denver’s Nikola Jokic are the only players this season to average at least 15 points and five rebounds per game while shooting better than 42% from 3-point range.<\/p>\n
Knueppel’s 13 games with at least five 3s ties a rookie record \u2014 and he still has 33 games to play.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe’s been incredible,” Flagg said of Knueppel, both of whom spent one season at Duke before entering the draft. “He\u2019s been really impressive and that\u2019s nothing new to me. I know what he is capable of. I knew what to expect and I\u2019m really happy for him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Curry, the NBA’s all-time leader in 3s, said after a recent game against the Hornets that what stood out to him was Knueppel’s composure for a rookie.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe can obviously shoot the ball at a high level,\u201d Curry said. “You can’t really leave him open at all as he has such a quick release and shoots with confidence. And his playmaking is very underrated. His game just suits the NBA style, whether it’s fast-paced or a slowed-down possession game.”<\/p>\n
Whether or not Knueppel can beat the odds and overtake Flagg for NBA Rookie of the Year with two months left in the season remains to be seen.<\/p>\n
But the No. 4 pick in the 2025 draft said just being in the same conversation with Flagg \u2014 a player many observers consider to be a \u201cgenerational talent\u201d \u2014 is rewarding.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cool,\u201d Knueppel said. \u201cAnytime you work hard as a basketball player and you get recognized, that\u2019s a cool thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
___<\/p>\n
AP NBA: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/NBA<\/a><\/p>\nCopyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHARLOTTE, N.C. \u2013 Cooper Flagg entered the season as the overwhelming favorite to win NBA Rookie of the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":439479,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[64],"tags":[207359,761,13054,160821,355,1756,99,2244,30534],"class_list":{"0":"post-439478","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nba","8":"tag-chris-mullin","9":"tag-cooper-flagg","10":"tag-donovan-mitchell","11":"tag-keegan-murray","12":"tag-nba","13":"tag-nikola-jokic","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-stephen-curry","16":"tag-steve-kerr"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=439478"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/439478\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/439479"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=439478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=439478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=439478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}