In one of the closest NBA Rookie of the Year battles in league history, Cooper Flagg beat out former Duke teammate and roommate Kon Knueppel by 26 points for the award.

While Flagg’s season was historic, joining only Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Luka Doncic to average more than 20 points, six rebounds and four assists as a rookie, it looked for the longest time that it would be Knueppel taking the trophy home.

Did the Charlotte Hornets and Knueppel making the play-in game of the NBA Playoffs hurt his chances? NBA legend Reggie Miller believes so.

"Voters saw the struggle of Kon in those two games, and I think that hurt him. If the voters had not seen those two games and the votes had to be in, you saw how close it was, obviously, he was knocking on the door of winning that award," Miller said. "That's where he lost it."

In the loss to the Orlando Magic, Knueppel scored just 11 points with three rebounds and one assist, way below his scoring average of 18.5 points per game. The sharp-shooter finished 3-of-10 from the floor, including 1-of-6 from beyond the arc in the 121-90 loss.

This article originally appeared on Duke Wire: NBA legend explains why Kon Knueppel lost Rookie of the Year award