Which player did NBA executives and scouts predict will win Rookie of the Year?
ESPN polled 20 NBA executives and scouts about the incoming rookie class, asking a variety of questions, including who they thought would win Rookie of the Year.
Which player did they choose?
The answer was overwhelmingly Dallas’ Cooper Flagg, who received 17 out of 20 votes, with the remaining three split between the San Antonio Spurs’ Dylan Harper and the Washington Wizards’ Tre Johnson.
Flagg only played two games in the Summer League but showcased his NBA skillset and joins a Mavericks team with a strong supporting cast around him, including Anthony Davis, Klay Thompson and Kyrie Irving, who will miss the beginning of the season recovering from a torn ACL.
The Mavs hope that the addition of Flagg will help the team make another deep playoff run similar to their NBA Finals appearance during the 2023 season.
Those polled did point out that because of this, Flagg might not put up the scoring numbers that other rookies will on teams with less talent, though he was still cited as the most NBA-ready player.
