The Rookie of the Year Race in the NBA has been one of the tightest Rookie of the Year races ever in NBA history. There hasn’t been a definitive frontrunner the entire season; rather a top-three consisting of Cooper Flagg, Kon Kneuppel, and VJ Edgecombe. Cooper Flagg has been the number one favorite for a while, but he recently suffered a foot injury and missed some time. He has been averaging 20.4 points, 6.5 assists, and 4.1 rebounds. Flagg has also been shooting 48.2% from the field. Flagg was the number one pick and is living up to the hype of being a generational talent. And, remember, Flagg is only 19 years old, and should technically still be a freshman in college if not for his high school re-classification. Flagg is known as an all-around player already and looks to surely become a superstar in the league later in his career. The next candidate is Kon Kneuppel, who is averaging 19.3 points per game, 5.5 assists, and 3.5 rebounds per game. He is shooting 48.9% from the field and is lights out from the three-point line and beyond, averaging 44% from the three, which is amazing for a rookie and is currently leading the league in most threes made. He set the NBA record for the most three pointers for a rookie in NBA history with 209 three pointers, and will surely add more. Kneuppel,as of right now, is currently the favorite to win the award, but it’s extremely close between him and Cooper Flagg.
A lot of NBA fans are hyped up to see who ends up ultimately winning it, but there is one more sneaky candidate who could make his way up the ladder. The next candidate, Vj Edgecombe, has been the 3rd favorite rookie to win it for a while. He is currently averaging 15.5 points per game, 5.5 rebounds, and 3.9 assists. He is shooting 43% from the field. Really nobody has him as the favorite to win it, but in most years Edgecombe’s performance would be deemed the best out of the rookies. Out of the three players, Edgecombe, however, is currently on the best team out of the three, the Philadelphia 76ers. Freshman Kayden Jones shared his thoughts on the tight Rookie of the Year race, “As a big fan of basketball, it’s fun to see such a tight race to this award. In my opinion I believe Kon Kneuppeul will take this award and win it because of how he shoots the ball from the three and how his percentage is so good. Also, the way he makes so many [threes], he might just run away with that record.” This Rookie of the Year race has been the tightest it has ever been, and NBA fans are so excited to see who comes out on top and takes home the trophy.
