Dallas Mavericks coach Jason Kidd on Tuesday expressed his excitement about forward Cooper Flagg winning the 2025-26 NBA Rookie of the Year award.
Flagg secured 56 first-place votes and finished with 412 total points from a global panel of 100 sportswriters and broadcasters. He narrowly topped Charlotte Hornets guard Kon Knueppel (386 points), the second-smallest margin of victory under the current voting format (2002-03).
The No. 1 overall pick became the third player in franchise history to win, joining Luka Dončić (2018-19) and Kidd (1994-95), who shared the award with Grant Hill. Kidd often advocated for Flagg to win throughout the season and congratulated him on X.
Thrilled to see @Cooper_Flagg recognized with the @NBA Rookie of the Year award. Your feel for and commitment to the game are truly special. Congratulations and enjoy this moment. This is just the beginning. pic.twitter.com/U411mOnni8
Flagg averaged 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals while shooting 46.8% from the field in 70 appearances. He led the rookie class in scoring average and had the most 30-point games (11) by a first-year player since Victor Wembanyama in the 2023-24 season.
The former Duke All-American joined Michael Jordan as the only rookies in history to lead their team in total points, rebounds, assists and steals since steals were first recorded in 1973-74. He is the second-youngest player to win the award (19 years, 127 days).
Flagg on April 3 became one of 10 rookies to score at least 50 points in a game. He followed that performance with a 45-point outing on April 5, joining Allen Iverson as the only first-year players since the NBA-ABA merger with back-to-back 40-point games.
This article originally appeared on Rookie Wire: Mavs news: Jason Kidd reacts to Cooper Flagg winning Rookie of Year