Richard Jefferson wants ROY voting change after Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg win

After a narrow Rookie of the Year race between Dallas Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg and Charlotte Hornets’ Kon Knueppel, ESPN’s Richard Jefferson is calling for a change. Flagg won the Rookie of the Year award. And he beat Knueppel by a wide margin, which surprised many, considering how close the race was until Kon and the Hornets entered this year’s Play-In Tournament.

Richard Jefferson argues that Knueppel and the Hornets reaching the Play-In Tournament should have increased his chances, regardless of his postseason performances, he said, per ESPN’s Road Trippin.

“I think next year we should look at that because getting into the playoffs is a part of your resume for the regular season,” Jefferson said. “So this little gap in between makes it very, very difficult to be like, okay well now postseason, unless you’re in the top six, is the only way to equate how good your regular season was. Because I don’t give a damn about the stats, I give a damn about winning.

“And I truly believe Cooper Flagg had the best stats, some of the most historic stats. But we care more about winning than we do about stats. Kon Knueppel contributed to winning way more than Cooper Flagg.”

Knueppel finished his rookie season averaging 18.5 points on 47.5/86.3/42.5 percent shooting splits, 5.3 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game in 2025-26.

Cooper Flagg’s Kon Knueppel admission after ROY win

After winning Rookie of the Year, Mavericks’ Cooper Flagg kept it 100 about Kon Knueppel. After helping his team reach the Play-In Tournament, Knueppel’s struggles amidst the Play-In games diminished his chances of winning ROY. Flagg, who missed the playoffs, addressed his race with Knueppel after accepting the award.

“Me and Kon, we talked all year long, but we never talked about the rookie of the year, or what people were saying about any of that,” Flagg said. “It was more just support, you know, for one another. And staying in contact. I mean, he’s somebody that be one of my best friends for the rest of my life.

“So just stay in contact, seeing how things have been different for him and what he’s learned, and just trying to help each other in our own single journeys apart from each other, but just learning as much as we can about this league and how we can be better. But yeah, we definitely stayed in contact. And, yeah, I’ve talked to him.”

Flagg averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game while shooting at a 46.8% clip from the field.

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