Mavericks Cooper Flagg Gets Major Rookie Of The Year Backing From NBA Legend

Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg is in the middle of a heated battle for one of the NBA's biggest awards. The Rookie of the Year is up for grabs, and Flagg is competing with his former Duke roommate, Kon Knueppel. Both are having historic seasons, and a good argument could be made for either player.

Flagg has had some loud performances recently, putting up 51 points against the Orlando Magic on Friday, then coming right back and scoring 45 points against LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday. He made all kinds of NBA history with those games, but he's also starting to re-establish himself as the front-man for Rookie of the Year.

NBA legend Carmelo Anthony, who was part of the NBC/Peacock studio show for Sunday's game, said he was initially going with Knueppel, but he is changing his vote to the Mavericks' star rookie.

︀︀"My pick was Knueppel," Anthony admitted. "...But when you look at what Cooper Flagg is actually doing, one of the youngest to score 50 the other night, back-to-back 40. We talk about star power and faces of the league. Cooper has everything you could possibly want from a young superstar... We talk about [Victor Wembanyama] all the time with the stat-stuffing; he's going to be that from now to the end of time. I don't see too many young players have what he has. I'm going to go with Cooper."

Carmelo Anthony picks Cooper Flagg for ROY:

"My pick was Knueppel... but when you look at what Cooper Flagg is actually doing, one of the youngest to score 50 the other night, back to back 40. We talk about star power and faces of the league. Cooper has everything you could… https://t.co/1f3g9yX9CA pic.twitter.com/e3izxMauV9
— NBA Courtside (@NBA__Courtside) April 5, 2026

Carmelo Anthony Knows A Thing or Two About Tight Rookie of the Year Races

Carmelo Anthony was in a legendary Rookie of the Year race in 2003-04 with LeBron James, who Flagg just outdueled on Sunday. Anthony finished 14th in MVP while finishing second in Rookie of the Year. Looking at the stats, it's almost surprising Anthony didn't win.

Anthony averaged 21 PPG and 6.1 RPG while being a slightly more efficient shooter. James (20.9 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 5.9 APG) was the better playmaker and defender, but Anthony's Nuggets had a lot more success.

James ended up leading the final vote with 508 points to 430, and has gone on to have the much better career, but it is fair to wonder if Anthony could've taken that award away. Cooper Flagg is now trying to do the same by taking it away from Kon Knueppel, who has been the favorite for the last month or so.

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