Cooper Flagg Officially Receives Wilt Chamberlain Trophy For Being Named NBA Rookie of the Year

As the season progressed it became a tight two man race towards the finish. But only one could be the ROTY. The 26-PT gap between Flagg and Knueppel is the second smallest since the current voting format began (’02-03), behind only a 15-PT gap (’21-22). Nonetheless, from Maine to Duke to Dallas… to the 2nd-youngest player EVER to win NBA ROTY honors, trailing only LeBron James. Cooper Flagg officially receives the Wilt Chamberlain Trophy for being named the 2025–26 Kia NBA Rookie of the Year. In honor of Cooper Flagg winning Rookie of the Year, the Dallas Mavericks will be making a $10,000 charitable donation in Cooper’s name to Ronald McDonald House of Dallas.

Flagg was named this season’s ROTY because he led the Mavericks in total points (1,473), rebounds (466), assists (316) and steals (84). He finished as the only player in the entire NBA to lead his team in each of the four categories and joined Jordan as the only rookies in league history to do so. Flagg averaged 22.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists, 1.2 steals and 1.2 blocks after the All-Star break, finishing as the only player across the entire NBA to average at least 20.0 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 1.0 steals and 1.0 blocks following the break.

Cooper Flagg Rookie of the Year Presser

At his press conference on Wednesday Cooper Flagg briefly discussed what winning the NBA ROTY accolade meant to him. He said,

“I think it means everything. I think this award/reconciliation is something that all rookies come into the year fighting for and competing for. They’re trying to put their best foot forward for this award and I think just the recognition means a lot to me; all the hard work, all the hours that I put in throughout the year and years previous — all the hours I’ve put in my whole life. It shows that it’s all worth it.

There were moments during the year that I was at a low, you know a lot of lows. Obviously battling with a lot of the losses and struggling at times; but I think just having my support system around me. My family and my teammates lifting me up and getting me through that stuff, it just helped me with my confidence overall.
I think this award is just another step in the right direction and into being more confident moving forward.”

Flagg (19 years, 103 days) became the youngest player in NBA history to score 50-plus points with his 51-point performance against the Orlando Magic on April 3, breaking his own record for the most points by a teenager in NBA history (49, vs. Charlotte, Jan. 29). He followed with a 45-point outing against the Los Angeles Lakers on April 5 to join Wilt Chamberlain as the only rookies in NBA history to total 96-plus points over any two-game span.

Cooper Flagg Officially Receives Wilt Chamberlain Trophy For Being Named NBA Rookie of the Year

Additionally, The 19-year-old led all rookies in 25-point games (21), 30-point efforts (11), 35-point outings (6), 40-point performances (4), 45-point games (3) and 50-point outings (1). He also led all first-year players in 20-5-5 games (17), 25-5-5 efforts (12), 30-5-5 games (6), 35-5-5 outings (3) and 40-5-5 performances (2).

Cooper Flagg now joins LeBron James, Kevin Durant and LaMelo Ball as the 4th teenager EVER to win the award. Also, is the first rookie since ’96-97 to post four 40-pieces (Allen Iverson). Flagg truly put in WORK during his debut season. Congratulations to Cooper and look forward to watching the rest of his career take shape.

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