By Miguel Mike Medina
Photo Credit: Glenn James/NBAE via Getty
Dallas Mavericks guard Cooper Flagg wins the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year honors.
Flagg won a tight race with his former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel finishing in second place with 386 total points. Flagg had 412 points. Philadelphia Sixers’ VJ Edgecombe came in third in the voting.
The Mavericks selected Flagg as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA draft. The selection is turning out to be worth it. Flagg had an impressive rookie season. He averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists on 47 percent shooting. Flagg set out numerous records in his first season and had several 40-point game performances.
On April 5th, Flagg nearly had a triple-double against the Los Angeles Lakers. He finished that game with 45 points, 9 assists, and 8 rebounds. However, the game we will never forget is against the Orlando Magic, which also came in April. Flagg dropped a career high 51 points. He also had at least six games in which he scored at least 30 points, had five rebounds, and five assists.
Winning the rookie of the year award puts him in great company with LeBron James. Flagg and James are the two youngest players ever to win the award. James was 18 when he won the award in 2004 with the Cleveland Cavaliers. Flagg is 19.
Dallas finished 26-56 this season. Despite leading the team in points, rebounds, assists, and steals, Flagg wants to win in Dallas, and it’s going to take some time as the Mavericks need to build around him by consistently drafting the right players.
The Mavericks will also see how Kyrie Irving responds on the court, as he missed the entire season due to an ACL injury. We will see whether Irving returns to his old self. Irving will be 35 in 2027.
Miguel Mike Medina is the publisher of The MMM Journal. He can be reached at medinamiguelmike@gmail.com and themmmjournal@gmail.com
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