Cooper Flagg Receives Dallas Challenge From Paige Bueckers After Winning NBA ROTY

Cooper Flagg was named the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year on Monday night, eeking out the second-closest vote for the award in the last 23 years, as he beat his Kon Knueppel by just 26 points.

Flagg was the rightful winner of the award after a historic season that saw him become just the second rookie in the last 50+ years to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals. The other one to do that was Michael Jordan. That alone was worthy of the recognition.

Among the many of his sponsors to congratulate him was Gatorade, which featured a recording from Paige Bueckers of the Dallas Wings, offering a challenge.

"Yo! What's up, Coop?" Bueckers says as the ad starts. "Congrats on Rookie of the Year! Not bad for our first rodeo, right? Now, let's see who gets that ring for Dallas first."

.@Cooper_Flagg winning Kia @NBA Rookie of the Year was expected, what’s next isn’t ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/XEGE6BLpLb
— Gatorade (@Gatorade) April 27, 2026

Bueckers and Flagg share a lot of similarities in their professional paths. Both were the #1 pick in the 2025 draft, both went to Dallas, and now, both have won Rookie of the Year despite down seasons for their organizations. Their careers will be compared constantly, especially as the WNBA season is about to tip off for Bueckers and the Wings.

Who Will Win a Championship First: Paige Bueckers or Cooper Flagg?

It will be a fun battle to see who can win the championship for the city of Dallas first between Paige Bueckers and Cooper Flagg. The math favors Bueckers. The WNBA has 15 teams now and will expand to 18 before the end of the decade. Meanwhile, the NBA has 30 teams and could add 2 more before the end of the decade. Basic math says that the Wings have fewer teams to go through to win a championship.

Even though both were drafted in 2025, the WNBA timeline means Bueckers is about to tip off her second season already, while we'll have to wait until October to see the start of Flagg's second season.

The Wings made a lot of moves this offseason to build up the team around Paige Bueckers, drafting Azzi Fudd with their second first-overall pick in a row, re-signing Arike Ogunbowale, firing Chris Koclanes as head coach to bring in Jose Fernandez, and making a few big splashes in free agency by signing Alanna Smith and Jessica Shepard away from the Minnesota Lynx. Smith was the WNBA Co-Defensive Player of the Year, which should help shore up a leaky defense.

Meanwhile, the Dallas Mavericks are just getting into the offseason. They'll get another lottery pick to pair with Flagg, which they're hoping can be the top pick again. They'll also have some financial flexibility after trading Anthony Davis away at the trade deadline. With Kyrie Irving coming back from injury, the Mavericks are optimistic they can be a contender again next season.

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