NBA can't afford to rob Cooper Flagg of this 'no-brainer' decision

The NBA and its voting panel need to give Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg the Rookie of the Year award, as Flagg has undoubtedly proven himself as the most talented rookie in the class, with head coach Jason Kidd and teammates such as Brandon Williams think this should be a no-brainer decision.

"That's a no-brainer," Williams said in response to a question on if Flagg should win Rookie of the Year. "The stuff he's doing at the age of 19, I think people don't really realize he's still a teenager just cause of the way he's playing and how he carries himself, how mature he is to the game. You just don't see that nowadays, at all. There's really not too much to say, I think the numbers speak for itself."

The numbers do speak for themself to Williams' point. Flagg is top-five among all qualifying rookies in every major statistical category, and leads all rookies with 20.3 points per game. Flagg's former college roommate, Kon Knueppel, has been the media's darling to win Rookie of the Year, likely due to the Charlotte Hornets finagling their way into the East playoff race as well as the fact that Flagg missed eight games in February due to a right midfoot sprain.

The Rookie of the Year debate shouldn't exist

However, there seems to be unfair bias toward Knueppel in this instance, as Flagg is far more effective on both ends of the court and has played out of position throughout many of his minutes this year. If Flagg were on a more successful team like the Hornets, there's almost no doubt he'd be the Rookie of the Year favorite heading into the last few games of the regular season.

Sure, Knueppel is a more efficient shooter from outside by a wide margin compared to Flagg, but Flagg is a more dynamic player in practically every other way. Flagg's impact as a two-way player and bigger wing is a skill set that any team in the NBA would covet, and there's no other rookie that carries the same offensive upside as him, proven by him tying the record for the third most points scored by a rookie in a single game in NBA history with his 49 points versus the Hornets.

The Knueppel hype is clouding what's obvious

This rookie class has been very impressive, so Flagg being a no-brainer for Rookie of the Year isn't undermining how good Knueppel, Dylan Harper Jr., or V.J. Edgecombe have been. However, none of those players have had to bear as big a workload as Flagg has for a suffering Mavericks team, and Rookie of the Year isn't typically an award that weighs heavily on team success, especially since players don't pick which situation they are drafted into.

It would be an absolute disservice if the NBA and its awards voting panel handed the Rookie of the Year award to any other player besides Flagg, and even a tie for the award with someone like Knueppel wouldn't be just, even if that would ease Mavericks fans' conscience slightly.

When media members and fans start running the tape back on Flagg's rookie season in the coming years, they will very much see the eye test proved he should've won the award in the event they give it to someone like Knueppel.