Cooper Flagg receives unanimous praise in rookie of the year – Basketball insider
Flagg arrives with historic hype
Cooper Flagg entered the NBA with huge expectations. The Dallas Mavericks rookie was selected as No. 1 after a prominent freshman at Duke. He became the fourth freshman in history to win the National Player of the Year Award, and consolidated himself as the top prospect of the 2025 draft class.
The Mavericks were lucky enough to land him. They only had a 1.8% chance to get into the first pick but managed to get past the first. That luck gave them a player who was already considered the rookie of the year.
Coaches and Scouts expect big things
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps recently conducted an investigation into 20 coaches, executives and scouts. Nineteen of them chose Flagg as a favorite to win the Rookie of the Year. Flag’s Duke teammate Kon Knueppel now has other votes with the Charlotte Hornets.
“No surprise, Flagg escaped the court because one of the most anticipated prospects in recent memory may only lag behind Wembanyama in this category,” Bontemps wrote.
An Western Conference assistant coach explained his only vote for Knueppel: “He will be in a bad team and will master the ball and take out the numbers.”
Expect the best player in his class
Bontemps also asked which rookie would be the best player in five years. Flag once again dominated the polls, earning 18 out of 20 votes. Only Ace Bailey and Dylan Harper won one vote each.
“There is a clear road to success as a point guard landing with Victor,” the Western Conference scout said of Harper. “If Cooper was on a bad team, he would be the obvious answer. But his landing site could lead to him developing differently.”
Prepare to lead early
Flag’s character will be big from the beginning. With Kyrie Irving’s game, Dallas needs to play, and Flagg will handle the ball frequently. He showed his potential in the summer league, scoring 31 points against the San Antonio Spurs in Game 2 only.
The Mavericks were built around veterans like Irving, Anthony Davis and Klay Thompson, but their future clearly belongs to Flag. As those stars get older, rookie forwards are expected to grow into the franchise Dallas has been seeking.
