Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets and Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks once shared the same uniform as former Duke Blue Devils. Now, they are on pace to share a trophy and the title as the best NBA rookies of their class—or are they.
For weeks, the 2026 Rookie of the Year battle has been between Knueppel and Flagg, with the former getting the top spot over the latter these past few weeks. And as the season winds down, it’s obvious they are the top two candidates for the award, making it plausible that they could be co-Rookie of the Year this season—something that has happened only three times before.
The Only Three Co-Rookies of the Year So Far
The first-ever co-Rookies of the Year were Geoff Petrie and Dave Cowens in 1971. Although both were great rookies in the ’70s, only Cowens became a phenomenal star in the league and eventually became a Hall of Famer. Then came Jason Kidd and Grant Hill in 1995, when both players were deemed revolutionary for the ’90s. Despite being dubbed the “next Michael Jordan,” Hill never reached his true potential due to injuries, although he did become one of the league’s better all-around players. Kidd, for his part, turned out to be an all-time great.
The most recent duo to be named co-Rookie of the Year were Elton Brand and Steve Francis back in the 1999-00 season, when they were the first and second overall picks of the 1999 draft class. Francis was one of the most exhilarating players of his time, but had his fair share of controversies. Meanwhile, Brand was a 20-10 big man for many years.
In all three instances, each pair were so good as rookies that there was no clear winner, resulting in two-way ties for the prestigious award. With Flagg and Knueppel doing the same in the 2025-26 season, it’s not surprising that fans think they can join that elite company. Or so they thought.
What Are the Odds That Knueppel and Flagg Win Co-Rookies of the Year?
It sure looks good to have another co-ROTY, but realistically speaking, Kon Knueppel and Cooper Flagg achieving a historic feat is close to impossible.
Since the 2002-03 season, the NBA has changed the Rookie of the Year voting system from the simpler “one vote per voter” scheme to tallying it via a weighted point system (5 points for first place, 3 for second place, and 1 point for third place). Since then, the award has relied on total points instead of vote counts, which is probably why LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony didn’t win co-Rookie of the Year despite being a very close race. In fact, one could argue that if the old voting system was used, James and Anthony likely would’ve shared the award.
Unless voters confide with each other to allow both players to receive equal total points, it’s likely only one of Knueppel and Flagg will be named Rookie of the Year. So far, that race has been a tight one, although Knueppel might have a slight edge only because Flagg missed a few games recently.
As of this writing, Kon Knueppel is averaging 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting an impressive 43.8% from three-point land. On the other hand, Cooper Flagg is entertaining everyone as the Dallas Mavericks’ salvation by averaging 20.2 points, 6.6 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 1.1 steals per game.
Looking at it, it’s indeed a close fight between two of the most exciting young talents in the NBA right now, but once again, only one will probably win that trophy this year.
