NBA ROY 2026 Betting Odds Update: Which Duke Youngster Takes It?

We’re now well past the All-Star break, the NBA’s version of a kind of “midway point” in the season. We’re now firmly into the final quarter of the campaign, with most teams having played 60+ games at this point. That means the races for the league’s big awards are getting interesting!

We’ve already taken a look at the intriguing MVP race and the less interesting DPOY race, which needs a miracle not to end as expected. Here we take a look at the race for Rookie of the Year in 2026. And this one’s turned into a race of the two-horse variety.

At most NBA betting sites, you can’t even bet on anyone but the top three: Charlotte Hornets wing Kon Knueppel, Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg, and Philadelphia 76ers guard V.J. Edgecombe. The latter of the three is way behind the other two in this race, however. So, which Duke prodigy is it going to be? We analyse the race and give you our best bet!

NBA ROY 2026 Betting Odds & Best Bets

All betting odds provided by Betway.

The Favorite: Kon Knueppel, G/F, Charlotte Hornets (-170)

This is an even tighter race than these tight odds would suggest. For most of the season, No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg seemed like a shoo-in for the award. He is the only rookie averaging 20+ points per game, after all. However, he missed eight straight contests with injury recently, and during that time, his old Duke Blue Devils sidekick surpassed him in the pros.

Knueppel is averaging 19.3 points, 5.4 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 3.5 triples per game, the latter of which leads all rookies by a very wide margin. He’s also nearly putting up the vaunted 50-40-90 season as a rookie: he’s shooting 49.1 percent from the field, 44 percent from three, and 87.1 from the charity stripe. Knueppel has been a sniper: that three-point efficiency is top five and his 222 triples top the league and are 20 more than the next best guy in the NBA.

Our Best Bet: Kon Knueppel, G/F, Charlotte Hornets (-170)

Flagg is putting up slightly higher per game marks than Knueppel in points, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks. But when we say slightly, we mean slightly. He’s averaging 1.0 more points, 0.8 assists, 1.1 rebounds, 0.5 steals, and 0.5 blocks. Meanwhile, Knueppel has been a much more efficient shooter from everywhere on the floor.

The thing that could be the nail in Flagg’s coffin is that Knueppel is putting these numbers up for a surging Hornets team that is pushing for a play-in spot. Meanwhile, Flagg’s Mavericks are likely tanking the rest of the way. Considering Charlotte was viewed as one of the worst teams in the league and the Mavericks were viewed as a legit contender in the West heading into this 2025-2026 season, that’s a pretty strong argument in Knueppel’s favor. And we believe, the one to tip the scales in the end.