NBA Rookie of the Year Odds: Does Kon Knueppel Have a Shot at Beating Cooper Flagg?

All year long, the Rookie of the Year race between Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel and Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg has been incredibly tight. Neither has pulled too far away from the other.

Flagg has generally held the lead all season, but that's largely due to the initial expectation that he'd run away with the award. That, and no one really expected Knueppel to be quite this good and be in the race.

But as the season begins to wind down, both players have put together impressive cases for the award. And as of now, after basically trailing the entire season, Kon Knueppel is now the favorite to win it.

Kon Knueppel has best odds at NBA Rookie of the Year award

Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (7) stands with Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Cooper Flagg has the edge in points per game, rebounds per game, and assists per game. He also has a higher usage rate, which can help explain some of the average increases.

Kon Knueppel is having a historic shooting season for a rookie, he's playing more games with Flagg injured right now, and, though I absolutely loathe this argument, the Hornets are winning.

Knueppel has helped transform a laughingstock into a legitimately good team. He also has a significantly better net rating than Flagg.

Because of Knueppel's recent, impressive surge, which includes setting the new NBA rookie record for threes made in a season, and Flagg's absence, the odds have shifted. Now, Knueppel is -170 on FanDuel, and Flagg is +135.

No one else is even close. VJ Edgecombe is the only other person with odds right now, and he's +10000. It's Flagg versus Knueppel, and the whole NBA world knows it.

Flagg is not expected to play tonight in the second of two head-to-head matchups with Knueppel. The Hornets' rookie had 34 points with eight threes and made the game-winning free throws after drawing a foul on Flagg, but Flagg had 49 points and 10 rebounds in that one.

This would've been a good chance for either one to help their case, as head-to-head matchups can tilt things. If Flagg had another excellent outing and won, he'd likely move back into the lead, but he's not going to play.

Until he gets back on the court and unless Knueppel slows down, the Hornets guard is likely to continue pushing his lead. Flagg isn't expected to be out for very long, though, so this race is far from over.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.

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