Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks won the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year award with 56 first-place votes and 412 total points, defeating Charlotte Hornets' Kon Knueppel who received 44 first-place votes and 386 points, by a margin of 26 points [The Japan Times][Fox News][New York Post]. The award, determined by a global media panel, highlights a close race between the former Duke teammates [The Japan Times]. Many performance details remain unverified across sources.