Kia Rookie Ladder: Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel continue to lead the way

Half of the 10 rookies on this week’s Kia Rookie Ladder will get a chance Wednesday night to slip a few more stats, moments and perhaps highlights into 2025 before Father Time closes the door on the calendar year completely.

Charlotte, New Orleans, San Antonio and Washington are among the 18 team on the New Year’s Eve schedule.

There will be Rookies of the Month named for December soon, and it’s quite possible we’ll get a repeat of the October/November recipients. Other candidates have thrived, but it’s hard to imagine any of them unseating Dallas’ Cooper Flagg in the Western Conference or Charlotte’s Kon Knueppel in the Eastern Conference.

Pending the latter’s probable return from an ankle sprain to face Milwaukee on the month’s final day, Flagg (23.5) and Knueppel (20.9) are the only two rookies to average more than 18 points in December. Flagg did it by shooting 51.6%, while Knueppel’s 3-point marksmanship of 45.4% was his primary scoring method. Sixty percent of his shots (8.8 of 14.8) came from behind the arc.

There was movement after those two on the Ladder, driven in part by Tuesday’s nationally telecast showdown between Philadelphia’s VJ Edgecombe and Memphis’ Cedric Coward.

Here are the complete Ladder rankings:

Weekly recap

• Dallas’ Ryan Nembhard slipped off the Ladder, his decline in minutes resulting in a drop in production. Brandon Williams has picked up the slack at point guard lately, averaging 14.3 points on 56% shooting for the Mavs in his last eight games.
• Portland’s Caleb Love was a coin flip for much of the first two months: good night or not so good off the Trail Blazers’ bench. He averaged 7.5 points in 17 minutes through 21 games. But in his most recent four games, his production shot up to 18.3 ppg in 30.5 mpg, shooting 50% overall and 16 of 35 on 3-pointers. Injuries, notably Jrue Holiday’s calf strain, have opened playing time for the 6-foot-3 undrafted native of St. Louis.
• Kings center Maxime Raynaud has had some active company among Sacramento’s newcomers. Both wing Nique Clifford and center Dylan Cardwell averaged 7.5 rebounds over the past week as half-time contributors.
• New York’s Mohamed Diawara pounced on two starts at Atlanta and New Orleans to put up five points, five rebounds and two assists against the Hawks and 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting against the Pelicans. The 6-foot-9 forward from Paris, the No. 51 pick in June, had been averaging 1.3 points and 4.3 minutes.

Storyline to watch

The second clutch rookie. Flagg’s demonstrated ability to perform late in close games has him putting up “clutch” stats on par with some of the league’s most cold-blooded characters. But now he has rookie company, with Philadelphia’s Edgecombe maintaining and producing in nerve-wracking situations. The Sixers’ guard ranks first in 3-point proficiency (61.5%) among players who have taken at least 10 clutch 3-pointers and second (60.7%) in field goal percentage, period, among those attempting 20 or more shots in the clutch. Edgecombe ranks fifth in clutch minutes and his team has gone 13-8 in those situations.

(All stats through Tuesday, Dec. 30)

1. Cooper Flagg, Dallas Mavericks

Season stats: 19.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg, 4 apg
Last Ladder: No. 1 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 1

One of Flagg’s most talked-about traits as he entered the NBA was his ability to be a quick study, quickly absorbing, processing and deploying information on the fly. He was, y’know, one of those “sponge” guys. It’s been evident so far in scoring and shooting that have improved as the season has unspooled. His December production (23.5 ppg, 4.8 apg and 51.6% shooting) all have ticked up from November (17.8 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 47.7% shooting). And he’s getting comfortable firing from deeper, going 10-of-20 in his past five games and upping his accuracy to 33.3% this month compared to 25.3% in October/November.

2. Kon Knueppel, Charlotte Hornets

Season stats: 19.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 3.5 apg
Last Ladder: No. 2 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 4

Only Knueppel (113, 428%) and the Denver Nuggets’ Jamal Murray (108, 45.4%) have canned at least 100 3-pointers while making better than 40% of their attempts. The focus at the moment on this rookie, though, is his durability: He was listed Wednesday morning as probable to play in the Hornets’ matinee against Golden State just four days and one missed game after his ankle sprain.

3. VJ Edgecombe, Philadelphia 76ers

Season stats: 15.9 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4 apg
Last Ladder: No. 4 ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 3

His stats line looked great by the end of Tuesday’s game — 25 points, six rebounds, four assists, four steals and 5-of-10 shooting on 3-pointers — but his ability to dig out from a rough first half to redefine his night over the final 29 minutes showed resiliency beyond his years. Twenty of those points came after halftime, including 13 of Philly’s 25 in the fourth quarter to keep his team alive. The final shot was pure icing.

4. Derik Queen, New Orleans Pelicans

Season stats: 13.3 ppg, 7 rpg, 4 apg
Last Ladder: No. 3 ⬇️
Draft pick: No. 13

Queen’s mix of power and finesse is intriguing, as he leads the rookies in total rebounds (239) and total assists (137). The big man also ranks second in blocks (28), fourth in steals (34) and fourth in total points (451), with a usage rate (22.8) close behind Flagg’s (23.3).

5. Cedric Coward, Memphis Grizzlies

Season stats: 13.9 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 2.9 apg
Last Ladder: No. 6 ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 11

His battle Tuesday with fellow Ladder dweller Edgecombe reminded folks of Coward’s veteran-like game. He scored 17 of his season-high 28 points in the first half with nine of his 16 rebounds, and he notched a plus-14 in the Grizzlies’ 3-point overtime loss to the Sixers.

The next 5:

6. Dylan Harper, San Antonio Spurs

Season stats: 11.9 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 4.1 apg
Last Ladder: No. 5 ⬇️
Draft pick: No. 2

Like Indiana’s Bennedict Mathurin two years ago, Harper is starting to get a little attention as a rookie with Kia Sixth Man of the Year potential. The field is a crowded one, though, with Jaime Jaquez Jr., Reed Sheppard, Nikeil Alexander-Walker, Naz Reid and others (including Spurs teammate Keldon Johnson) in that award mix.

7. Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans

Season stats: 14.4 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 3.1 apg
Last Ladder: No. 7 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 7

Leads the Class of 2025 in steals, while ranking third in points, field goals made and free throws made, and sixth in total assists. Near the top in highlights as well.

8. Maxime Raynaud, Sacramento Kings

Season stats: 10.6 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.0 apg
Last Ladder: No. 8 ↔️
Draft pick: No. 42

Half of his six double-doubles (tied for most by a rookie with Queen and Coward) have come in his past five performances. Said Kings coach Doug Christie: “One thing I like about Max is his poise. … He is playing with Hall of Famers in DeMar [DeRozan] and Russ [Westbrook]. I think he was a little like, ‘What do I do with it?’ Then all of a sudden, he is aggressive.”

9. Egor Dëmin, Brooklyn Nets

Season stats: 9.8 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 3.4 apg
Last Ladder: 10 ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 8

Up across the board in December compared to November: 11.8 ppg, .559 True Shooting Pct., plus-11.8 vs. 8.8, .498 and minus-11.5. Coach Jordi Fernández is still pushing but applauding a bit, too.

10. Tre Johnson, Washington Wizards

Season stats: 12.1 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.6 apg
Last Ladder: Not ranked ⬆️
Draft pick: No. 6

Johnson’s 5-for-5 work from the arc against Phoenix on Monday boosted him to 40.5% accuracy on 3-pointers and suggested a Ray Allen-as-rookie comparison to one fan.

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Steve Aschburner has written about the NBA since 1980. You can e-mail him here, find his archive here and follow him on X.