Former Duke basketball teammates Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel faced off for the first time in their NBA careers on Thursday, Jan. 29, and both rookies delivered career-high performances.
Flagg, 19, finished with 49 points, the most in NBA history by a teenager, on 20-of-29 shooting with 10 rebounds while Knueppel, 20, finished with 34 points on 10-of-18 shooting, draining eight 3-pointers. Knueppel and the Charlotte Hornets defeated Flagg and the Dallas Mavericks 123-121 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, with a pair of Knueppel free throws after being fouled by Flagg with 4.1 seconds remaining sealing Charlotte’s fifth-straight win.
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The former Blue Devils turned NBA lottery picks combined for 83 points, the most of any two opposing rookies in more than 50 years. They also are the first pair of opposing rookies that both attended same college and scored 30+ points in the same game.
“It’s incredible,” Flagg said. “I think it’s pretty well known that was my roommate last year. Just to have a night like this with him. I know how special he is and how hard he works. It’s just funny. I think 10-plus years down the road, I think we’ll both be looking back at this as a pretty special thing.”
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The duo were leading scorers on Jon Scheyer’s 2024-25 squad that won both the ACC regular-season and tournament titles, making it to the Final Four of the 2025 NCAA Tournament. Flagg was the No. 1 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, with Knueppel being taken fourth overall.
The duo are also headliners in the NBA Rookie of the Year race. Flagg is averaging 19.5 points per game and 6.5 rebounds on 48% shooting. Knueppel is averaging 18.9 points and 5.4 rebounds per game, shooting 48% from the field and 42% from 3.
“That’s my brother for life,” Flagg said.
Anna Snyder covers Duke for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at asnyder@usatodayco.com or follow her @annaesnydr on X, formerly known as Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Duke basketball stars Cooper Flagg Kon Knueppel shine in first NBA matchup
