Cooper Flagg Wins ROY Over Kon Knueppel

On April 28th, the NBA just dropped their rookie of the year for the 2025-26 season, and it went to Cooper Flag, not Charlotte.

Hornet's guard, Khan Newepal. A panel of 100 global media voters made the call on Monday, with a super tight 26-point gap between first and second, the second.

Closest since the format started in 2002.

Newepal had a monster year offensively, smashing the all-time rookie record for three-pointers made and leading the entire league in threes.

He did it all on a Hornet squad that won 43 games and hit the play in tournament.

Fans and analysts are heated, saying Flag patted his stats as the top option on a tanking team chasing lottery odds, while Newepal shone bright on a legit contender that dominated the second half of the year.

Voters turned in ballots late due to appeals over the 65-game minimum, and Newepal's rough play in outing might have swayed some minds.

Plus, as the topic, Flag started with that birthright vibe a lot of number ones get. It's a tough pill, but awards like this sparked the debate that keeps hoops alive.

Khan Newepal will have plenty more shots to claim his hardware down the first thing.

Lime. That wraps Charlotte Hornet's news today, brought to you with AI. I'm Cory with the story.