The Athletic Says Cooper Flagg is No Longer the ROY Favorite.

We haven’t had a Rookie of the Year race like this in a long time. Sure, there have been some close races in the past, but when was the last time we saw two rookies who showed mega-superstar upside put together incredible ROY cases? Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel are both having historic rookie seasons, and the Rookie of the Year race is as close as it can be. 

Every week, a different one of these former teammates and roommates has been at the top of the NBA Rookie Rankings. The Athletic’s latest Rookie Rankings have Knueppel overtaking Flagg as the top rookie in the league.

"The Hornets and Charles Lee have figured out how to weaponize Knueppel in creative and fun ways. There is a very real case that Knueppel is already the most versatile off-ball shooter in the league…Being versatile matters in the NBA. Teams will figure out how to slow down your top option if that's all you can do. The key is being able to counter what opposing teams present and having more answers to the test than the defense. Knueppel has a significant number of answers to every test, which is what makes him such a lethal offensive player. And it makes him my pick for Rookie of the Year with about three weeks left in the season."

Knueppel has already proven to be an elite offensive player. His shooting is unbelievable, but the well-roundedness of his offensive repertoire is extremely impressive as well. What’s making Knueppel’s case even better is that he is helping the Hornets win games. Flagg is having an incredible rookie year as well, but his team isn’t playing in games with nearly the level of importance that Kon is.