NBA Rookie of the Year Odds: Cooper Flagg Remains Small Favorite Over Kon Knueppel

The NBA’s Rookie of the Year race is going down to the wire, as No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg has taken the top spot in the latest betting odds, but not by much.

Flagg was a massive underdog to win the Rookie of the Year after a poll from ESPN last week showed Knueppel getting 80 of 100 first-place votes, but his play since then has flipped the odds entirely.

A 51-point game in a loss to Orlando and a 45-point game in a win over the Los Angeles Lakers moved Flagg to the favorite in this market. Still, the movement may have been a bit of an overreaction, as the rookie struggled against the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns earlier this week, dropping his odds down to -150.

NBA Rookie of the Year Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Cooper Flagg: -150
Kon Knueppel: +115

At these current prices at DraftKings, Flagg has an implied probability of 60 percent to win the Rookie of the Year while Kon Knueppel’s odds translate to an implied probability of just over 46 percent.

Knueppel was the favorite in this market for quite some time, as he set the rookie record for 3s made in a single season and has been a key part of a Charlotte team that is ninth in the Eastern Conference and has a real shot to make the playoffs.

However, Knueppel is averaging just 14.5 points per game while shooting 40.0 percent from the field in his last 10 games, allowing Flagg a chance to get back in this race.

Flagg is averaging 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game, but his efficiency isn’t nearly on the same level as Knueppel’s. The Hornets guard is shooting 47.8 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3 while Flagg is shooting 29.2 percent from deep this season.

Ultimately, this award may come down to whether or not voters want to value Knueppel being on a winning team. Flagg has put together an impressive season for a tanking Dallas squad, and he’s had a much tougher night-to-night workload.

Still, Knueppel’s numbers aren’t far behind Flagg – 18.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists per game – and he was the clear-cut favorite in this market just under one week ago. Flagg’s late-season surge has been impressive, but Knueppel could be a value bet at plus money ahead of the Hornets’ final two games of the regular season.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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