Photo: Getty Images
By Joel Reyes
Former Duke teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel didn’t waste time displaying their talents in the NBA, winning the league’s Rookies of the Month awards for games played in October and November.
Flagg, who captured the Western Conference award, started in all of the Dallas Mavericks’ first 20 games this season, averaging 16.7 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.4 steals.
He finished the month of November strongly, recording a career-high 11 assists in the game against the Los Angeles Lakers and scoring a career-best 35 points in the Mavs’ 114-110 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers.
Knueppel won the Eastern Conference prize after establishing himself as a key piece of the Charlotte Hornets’ offense.
He led all NBA rookies in scoring, averaging 18.4 points through November 30. He scored at least 30 points twice this season, including a career-high 32-point performance against the Milwaukee Bucks last month.
—JMS, Alta Sports