"Dallas phenom's biggest challenger could be his former Duke teammate" - Tim Bontemps says Kon Knueppel's ROY chances are real

After a few games into the season, one thing has become crystal clear — this rookie class is special. While most expected Cooper Flagg to dominate and for the Dallas Mavericks’ forward to cruise to the Rookie of the Year award, his unexpected slow start to the season has made it clear that the path to that trophy will be anything but easy.

At the start of the season, VJ Edgecombe looked like the best player in the class, while Cedric Coward and Dylan Harper were showing flashes of big potential. Meanwhile, Flagg struggled playing at the point guard position, but once Jason Kidd moved him back to his natural spot in recent games, his numbers immediately improved.

However, just as he regained his status as the betting favorite for ROY, Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets quietly emerged as the most serious challenger for the award, something that also caught the attention of ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.

“No. 1 pick Cooper Flagg entered the season expected to win the league's top rookie honor in a runaway, but the Dallas phenom's biggest challenger could be his former Duke teammate. Knueppel, behind a rookie-class-leading 18.3 points per contest and his 40 percent clip from 3, has already impressed scouts with his shooting stroke and feel for the game,” Bontemps wrote.

Knueppel is shooting lights out at the start of the season

The Duke product and former Flagg teammate currently has the best averages in the entire rookie class with 19.4 points and 5.8 rebounds on excellent shooting splits — 49.1 percent from the field, 43.8 percent from deep, and 90.0 percent from the free-throw line. What really stands out for the 6-foot-6 forward is that he’s hitting threes at such a high percentage while taking 8.5 attempts per game, clearly showing the level of shooter he is.

After last night’s strong performance, in which he was the brightest spot in yet another team loss, Knueppel scored 28 points with 7-of-11 from beyond the arc, marking his fourth straight game with 24 or more points and taking the lead in the ROY race according to oddsmakers. Kon also has the most made threes through the first 17 games of a career with 67, while Armoni Brooks and Jordan Hawkins are tied for second with 47.

Many still consider Flagg the heavy favorite to win the award, and it’s unlikely Knueppel will sustain this percentage on so many attempts, but if he surprises everyone and keeps shooting like this, he could genuinely steal the trophy from his former teammate.

We’ll see how things develop moving forward, but this is shaping up to be one of the most exciting ROY races in recent years. Still, it seems that at the end of the day, everything will depend on Kidd, who, at least for now, has given up on his experiment of forcing the 6-foot-9 forward into the point guard role, something his son believes never made sense.

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Playing at the PG position could pay off for Flagg in the future

If we look at Cooper’s last seven games since returning to his natural position, he’s averaging 19.2 points and 6.1 rebounds on 52.4 percent shooting, which is a clear indicator of how much better he feels there. Kidd’s intention is understandable to some extent, as in a season where the Mavs have nothing to lose, he’s trying to further develop Flagg as a decision-maker, which could be extremely valuable in the future.

The best example is Giannis Antetokounmpo, whom Kidd also pushed into a point-guard-like role in his early days with the Milwaukee Bucks, and although there was no sign back then that he would become one of the best players in the world, Jason clearly had a vision that paid off in the long term, even though he wasn’t around to see the end result.

Related: "He is perfect for international basketball" - Bill Simmons is positive that Kon Knueppel will make the 2028 U.S. Olympic team

This story was originally reported by Basketball Network on Nov 24, 2025, where it first appeared in the Latest News section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.