NBA Experts Predict Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper Rookie of the Year Race

The first time Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper met on the court, the former outshone the latter. Yet it was Harper who got the win.

"He had a good game," Harper said of Flagg's 31-point outing at NBA 2K26 Summer League. "I had a good game. We kind of just showed the NBA world what we're about."

Here are the 2025 #NBA Draft prospects. Front and center? Duke forward Cooper Flagg and Rutgers point guard Dylan Harper. #PorVida pic.twitter.com/H1l0um3IzB
— Matt Guzman (@mattgzman) June 25, 2025

The San Antonio Spurs' rookie hadn't played basketball in four months after Rutgers failed the make the NCAA Tournament, but it wasn't long before he found a rhythm. The Spurs picked up the win over the Dallas Mavericks to start their Las Vegas slate 1-0.

Rookie of the Year wasn't on either player's mind. But with still a month until the beginning of training camp, several ESPN analysts put their heads together to predict how the race would unfold.

Harper Predicted Runner-Up to Flagg

Every member of ESPN's Summer Forecast panel was asked to list their top three players of each of the league's six major award categories: Most Valuable Player, Rookie of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, Sixth Man of the Year, Most Improved Player, and Coach of the Year.

Jeremy Woo was tasked with the write-up for Harper and Flagg's category.

"Unsurprisingly, Flagg ran away with the voting," he wrote. "He's the best prospect in this class, brings NBA-ready versatility, and is stepping into what will likely be an important role on a team with playoff hopes and veteran talent. This award tends to be about the confluence of talent and circumstance, and Flagg enters the league with an optimal combination of both."

The scheduled matchup between Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper is set to mark the second time since 1966 that the top two picks in the same NBA Draft will face each other in the first career regular-season game for both players.

The previous instance was in 2015 (Karl-Anthony Towns… https://t.co/03X8bYhipw pic.twitter.com/X0NwUtW9ZC
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) August 12, 2025

Neither the Spurs nor the Mavericks will play on Opening Night on Oct. 21, but both teams are set to face each other to begin their respective seasons the following evening. At that point, both rookies can begin making their cases for what could be a year-long race.

"Harper and Edgecombe finished second and third, and both players can be highly impactful as rookies," Woo continued. "The question in both instances will be how big a role they can carve out in their respective crowded backcourts ... on paper, Flagg has a major leg up — for now."

However, anything can happen in the NBA, so it's anyone's race until proven otherwise.

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