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

The NBA's Rookie of the Year race is going down to the wire in the 2025-26 season, as No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg trails his college teammate Kon Knueppel in the latest odds.

Knueppel, the No. 4 pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, has put together arguably the best shooting season by a rookie in NBA history, knocking down over 43 percent of his attempts from beyond the arc for a Charlotte team that is one of the best stories in the league this season.

The Hornets are in the mix to make the playoffs in the East and have been rolling since the turn of the new year after a 4-14 start. Meanwhile, Flagg has put up some impressive numbers this season, but he's he's done it on a Dallas team that isn't sniffing the playoffs.

Oddsmakers have set Knueppel as the odds-on favorite to win this award, but that could change over the final few days of the regular season. Flagg has still put up some impressive numbers for Dallas, even though his efficiency isn't where Knueppel's is in the 2025-26 campaign.

Here's a look at the odds and a statistical comparison between these two Duke products as they battle for the Rookie of the Year honor.

NBA Rookie of the Year Odds

Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook

Kon Knueppel: -250
Cooper Flagg: +190
VJ Edgecombe: +25000

Kon Knueppel vs. Cooper Flagg Stat Comparison

Player	PPG	RPG	APG	FG%	3P%	SPG	BPG	BPM
Cooper Flagg	20.3	6.6	4.6	48.8%	27.8%	1.2	0.9	+0.9
Kon Knueppel	18.8	5.4	3.4	48.2%	43.1%	0.7	0.2	+3.2

There's no doubt that Knueppel has been the more efficient player in the 2025-26 season, and he's played a crucial role on a Charlotte team that could make the playoffs.

However, Flagg has played well in an expanded role on a Dallas team where the top players around him either were hurt or shipped out in the middle of the season. Flagg is averaging 19.9 points, 6.7 rebounds and 5.9 assists in the month of March, showing that he can take on an expanded playmaking role.

The Rookie of the Year doesn't usually factor in how a team has performed, especially since top picks usually land on poor teams anyway, but that may be giving Knueppel the edge here. Flagg also missed time after the All-Star break, which allowed Knueppel to stack some strong performances together when Flagg wasn't putting up any numbers.

The odds suggest that Knueppel is the clear favorite, but it's possible Flagg could narrow the gap by the end of the regular season.

Odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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