NBA Rookie of the Year Odds & Predictions 2026: Cooper Flagg Leads

• Cooper Flagg (Dallas Mavericks) remains the betting favorite, though his grip on the award has loosened.

• Kon Knueppel (Charlotte Hornets) is currently outscoring Flagg (averaging 18.0 points on 46% shooting) and has become the offensive focal point for the Hornets, with bettors rewarding his consistency and efficiency over Flagg's two-way potential.

• V.J. Edgecombe (Philadelphia 76ers) sits firmly in third, buoyed by his explosive scoring bursts and role on a winning team (14-10).

NBA Rookie of the Year Odds

Odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook. Join FanDuel today and claim your welcome bonus: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets if Your Bet Wins.

Rest of the candidates listed at +25000 odds and higher.

NBA Rookie of the Year Winner - My Pick

Cooper Flagg (-160) at FanDuel Sportsbook

Cooper Flagg is delivering historic, all-around production while serving as the primary engine for the Dallas Mavericks. Flagg has separated himself from the field by proving he is a generational talent capable of carrying a franchise immediately; he recently became the youngest player in NBA history to score 35 points in a game (surpassing LeBron James) and was named the Western Conference Rookie of the Month for October/November.

His candidacy is bolstered by a unique "point-forward" role in the post-Luka Doncic era, where he is averaging approximately 17 points, 7 rebounds, and 3.5 assists, demonstrating elite two-way versatility and clutch play that voters historically reward over empty-calorie scoring.

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How to Bet on the NBA Rookie of the Year Winner

When betting on the Rookie of the Year award winner, there are multiple factors to consider including their usage rate and their versatility on offense. Starting with usage rate, it’s vital to pick a player who is expected to receive a heavy workload from the get-go as the more minutes they play the better chance they have of putting up eye popping numbers.

Versatile players also have an advantage over the rest of the field as voters favor those who make an impact at multiple areas of the offense. Target players who are surrounded by court stretching shooters as it frees up more space in their efforts of scoring as well as give them the ability to generate assists when opposing defenses shade their coverage towards them.

How to Read NBA Rookie of the Year Winner Odds

Before betting on the Rookie of the Year award winner, it’s important to know how the listed odds work. If you bet on Cooper Flagg at his preseason odds of -220, then you would need to wager $220 to profit $100 should he win the award.

If you want to bet on a longer shot like VJ Edgecombe at +1600, then a $100 wager would profit you $1,600 should the Philadelphia 76ers rookie win the award. Make sure you line shop before placing any type of wager as the odds for the same market can drastically vary between each sportsbook.

Where to Bet on the NBA Rookie of the Year Winner

As for where to bet on the Rookie of the Year award winner, FanDuel Sportsbook is one of the best apps to use as they normally beat out the rest of the market in regard to their listed odds. If you have not signed up yet, new users can claim the following: Bet $5, Get $150 in Bonus Bets if Your Bet Wins.

BetMGM Sportsbook is another great app to use for the NBA season as they offer a wide range of promotions that gives their users bonus bets and parlay tokens to help boost their bankroll. BetMGM is also giving new users: Get Up to $1,500 in Bonus Bets* after creating an account with the WSN promo code WSNSPORTS.

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NBA Rookie of the Year Winner History

The Rookie of the Year award is one of the more exciting races to watch as plenty of future stars have won the title over the years. With San Antonio’s Stephon Castle winning it last year, the Spurs future looks bright as his teammate Victor Wembanyama also won the award the year before him.

As for who has managed to win the Rookie of the Year award and the NBA MVP in the same year, the list is small as only Wilt Chamberlain and Wes Unseld have been able to pull off that feat when both players did it back in the 1960’s. While Magic Johnson did not win the MVP in his first year in the league, he is still the only rookie to win the NBA Finals MVP.