Cooper Flagg Wins NBA Rookie of the Year 2026

The NBA has announced that Cooper Flagg, the young star of the Dallas Mavericks, has been named the Rookie of the Year for 2026. This highly anticipated moment is a culmination of Flagg's outstanding performance throughout the season, making him a standout among his peers and a fan favorite.

Flagg's impressive stats include leading all rookies in average points per game with 21.0 points in 70 regular season games. He also averaged 6.7 rebounds, ranking him third among rookies, and 4.5 assists per game, tying him for the top spot. Additionally, his 1.2 steals placed him third in that category as well.

According to the Mavericks, Flagg joins legends like Michael Jordan and Luka Doncic as one of the few rookies in the last 45 years to average at least 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. He led the Dallas team in total points, rebounds, assists, and steals, a feat only matched by Jordan in his rookie season.

Flagg also made history as the first teenager to score over 50 points in a single NBA game when he played against the Orlando Magic in early April. This achievement adds to his list of accomplishments in his debut season, which has been full of surprises. As the third Mavericks player to win the Rookie of the Year award, Flagg follows in the footsteps of Jason Kidd and Luka Doncic.

'It's an absolute honor,' Flagg stated. 'I'm grateful to receive this award and thank everyone in the Dallas Mavericks organization for believing in me from day one.'

In a tight competition, Flagg edged out Kon Knueppel from the Charlotte Hornets and VJ Edgecombe from the Philadelphia 76ers. Flagg received 56 first-place votes out of 100, while Knueppel received the remaining 44 votes. Edgecombe dominated the third-place votes with 93, followed by Dylan Harper from the San Antonio Spurs and Cedric Coward from the Memphis Grizzlies, who also received third-place votes.

The NBA reported that the 26-point difference between Flagg and Knueppel was the second-smallest margin in the history of the voting process since the current format was implemented in the 2002-2003 season.