The NBA has announced the 2025-26 Kia NBA All-Rookie first and second teams featuring standouts Cooper Flagg of the Dallas Mavericks, Kon Knueppel of the Charlotte Hornets, VJ Edgecome of the Philadelphia 76ers, Dylan Harper of the San Antonio Spurs and Cedric Coward of the Memphis Grizzlies, who rounded out the first team.
This season, Flagg, who won Rookie of the Year last month, joined Michael Jordan as the only rookies since 1973-74 to lead their team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. On April 3, he became the first teenager in NBA history to record a 50-point game thanks to a 51-point, six-rebound, three-assist, three-steal effort in a 138-127 loss to the Orlando Magic.
Kneuppel set the NBA’s rookie record with 273 3s, becoming the first rookie to lead the league in that category. Flagg’s former Duke teammate was a catalyst for the Charlotte Hornets recording their most wins since the 2015-16 season (44).
Edgecombe finished third in Rookie of the Year voting after leading all rookies in total minutes for a 76ers team that finished No. 7 in the East. During the regular season, Philly had a 16-7 record in games Edgecombe scored at least 20 points. In Game 2 of Philly’s series against the Boston Celtics, he became the youngest player in NBA history to have at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game.
Harper was a reserve for 65 of his 69 regular-season appearances before finishing fourth in Rookie of the Year voting. He was third on the Spurs in assists after helping San Antonio register its most wins since the 2015-16 season (team-record 67).
Wednesday’s announcement recognizes the best contributors in a productive rookie class. Flagg, Knueppel and Edgecombe were unanimous selections for the first team, earning 200 first-place votes in the process. Harper, the son of five-time NBA champion Ron Harper, was seven votes shy of being another unanimous selection.
Players like Coward, the 11th overall pick who finished fifth in Rookie of the Year voting, are prime examples of this class’ depth, given surprise contributions to the Grizzlies. Although Memphis finished 25-57 on the season, the Grizzlies had a 5-2 record when he scored at least 20 points in a game.
It’s hard to see any surprises with the first team, given how effective each member was, but it’s impressive how talented the second team is. In most other years, this could be a first team for a rookie class, especially given the contributions of Collin Murray-Boyles (Raptors), Jeremiah Fears (Pelicans), Ace Bailey (Jazz) and Derik Queen (Pelicans).
Each of those players has already carved credible NBA roles — Murray-Boyles as a defensive anchor, Fears as a starting-caliber point guard, Bailey as a volume scorer and Queen as a young center with promise — which is hard for any young players to do with bad teams. Maxime Raynaud of the Kings showed promise in his first NBA season by averaging 12.5 points in 74 games, including 17.3 per game after the All-Star break.
Though Tre Johnson of the Wizards struggled with efficiency, it would’ve been nice for the promising young scorer to find a spot on either team, especially given his ranking fourth among all first-year players in 3-pointers (115) and making logo 3-pointers with absolute ease. Players like Will Riley (Wizards), Egor Dёmin (Nets), Ryan Kalkbrenner (Hornets), Caleb Love (Trail Blazers) and Sion James (Hornets) also showed flashes throughout the season, but these All-Rookie teams are quite correct.
