Suddenly, the NBA Rookie of the Year race is a close one.
With Mavericks prodigy and longtime award favorite Cooper Flagg sidelined, Hornets freshman star Kon Knueppel has spoiled the conversation.
Just a week ago, Knueppel was +400 and Flagg -550 at the Score Bet, in a race that seemed all but over.
With Flagg’s foot sprain lingering and Knueppel playing his best basketball of the season, the two are co-favorites at -115 heading into Friday’s action.
Gamblers flocked to Knueppel during that period, with 92.1 percent of bets and 98.9 percent of Score Bet money going his way during that period.
Flagg, who will miss his sixth straight game on Friday night, is everything Dallas fans could have hoped for this season, averaging 20.4 points on 48.2 percent shooting with 6.5 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game.
However, Knueppel has exceeded expectations and teamed with Flagg to form one of the best rookie duos in recent memory in the league.
He scores 19.4 points per game and has already proven to be one of the top shooters in the NBA, averaging 44.2 percent from 3-point land on 5.6 attempts per game and recently breaking the rookie record for threes in a season.
Complicating matters for Flagg is the NBA’s 65-game award rule, which is also wreaking havoc on the NBA MVP race.
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Friday’s game will be his 10th missed game of the season with no clear timetable for his return, leaving him with just seven absences before he is disqualified from postseason honors.
If he succeeds, the comeback will be a long time coming for Knueppel, who was 35/1 to win the award shortly after the NBA Draft.
Flagg, the No. 1 overall pick, was -250 to become the next Rookie of the Year before free agency had even begun.
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Dylan Svoboda is a versatile writer and analyst in many sports. He especially has a lot of knowledge of the big three: MLB, the NFL and the NBA.
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