NBA ROY: From college roommates to Rookie of the Year rivals

The NBA draft class of 2025 was rated as one of the best of recent years and some rookies are already putting in dominant performances in the league.

The race to be crowned NBA Rookie of the Year is heating up as we head into the third month of the 2025/26 regular season. For all the first-year talent currently in the league, there are two names who have outperformed their contemporaries and look set to compete for ROY honors.

The Duke Blue Devils made it to the Final Four in last year’s March Madness and had three players taken in the top ten picks of the 2025 NBA Draft. College stand-out Cooper Flagg went to the Dallas Mavericks with the first overall pick, while Kon Knueppel was taken at No. 4 by the Charlotte Hornets. They have already made a big impression in the NBA.

Flagg and Knueppel, college roommates

As was expected, Cooper Flagg is currently the stand-alone favorite to be crowned Rookie of the Year. He has been given real responsibility by the Mavericks and he has responded with elite numbers, averaging 18.9 points, 6.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per game.

Last month he became the first 18-year-old to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up 42 in a 140-133 loss to the Utah Jazz. He beat the previous record, a 37-point performance from LeBron James in 2003.

It’s been a dominant rookie showing from Flagg but he is facing competition from former Duke teammate Kon Knueppel, who has shone brightly for the Hornets. A sensational shooter, Knueppel became the fastest player to 100 three-pointers in NBA history, reaching that tally in just 29 games to beat the previous record by 12 games.

The 20-year-old is a genuine All-Star prospect for the future and has put up incredible numbers so far in his rookie year, with 19.3 points, 5.2 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game.

Flagg and Knueppel were close friends in college and even shared a room at Duke. Now, Knueppel might be Flagg’s biggest challenge for rookie honors.

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