The star-studded 2025 NBA rookie class may go down as one of the strongest rookie classes of all time, with four rookies showing the potential to change the league forever.

Through the first half of the 2025-2026 season, Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel, V.J. Edgecombe, and Derik Queen have been pushing the standards for rookies with veteran-level confidence.

With the first pick of the draft, the Dallas Mavericks selected one of the best college freshmen of all time in Flagg. Flagg has shown that he is the most complete player in the entire draft, as he is the only rookie to be ranked in the top three in all stats among rookies.

Not only is Flagg elite among rookies, but he has also proven to be a formidable force among most players in the league, averaging 20 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. Only 14 rookies since 1995 have averaged 20 or more points per game, putting him in an elite group of players.

At the start of the season, Maverick’s head coach, Jason Kidd, made the bold choice of playing Flagg at the point guard position. In his seven-game stint, Flagg struggled with his efficiency, averaging just 13 points, 6 rebounds, and 3 assists per game on 38% from the field.

After realizing that Flagg was playing out of position, Kidd moved Flagg to forward, where his impact and points per game reached new levels.

That positional shift didn’t just boost his production; it reshaped his role within the offense. Now that Flagg is comfortable with the guards on his team, he’s able to play off-ball more, allowing him to do significant damage around the rim or from mid-range.

However, Flagg has been shooting 28% on his threes this season, which shows that his shot definitely needs work; however, Flagg makes up for his poor three-point shooting by being automatic from mid-range, with him hitting 51% of his mid-range shots.

The most impressive part of Flagg’s game has been his ability to dominate in the clutch. Through just 46 games, Flagg has been a beast in the clutch, with him racking up over 73 points in clutch time.

Flagg’s 73 points put him at 9th in the league for total clutch points, putting him on track to break Brandon Jennings ‘ record for most clutch points by a rookie in NBA history.

Unlike other rookies, Flagg doesn’t rush to score; he waits patiently for good looks and hits crazy shots when his team needs a bucket.

Recently, Flagg had one of, if not the most dominant, rookie performances of all time, scoring 49 points and grabbing 10 boards. This performance set the record for the most points scored by a teenager in a game. After this historic performance, Flagg followed up with three games with over 30 points, propelling him to the top of the rookie ladder.

However, Flagg doesn’t sit alone at the top of the rookie ladder, with rookie sensation Kon Knueppel keeping the rookie race neck and neck.

On draft night, the Hornets stole the show, drafting arguably the best perimeter player since Stephen Curry.

In college, Knueppel was the Kyrie to Flagg’s Lebron, acting as the reliable second option that could shoot the lights out. However, after the Hornets drafted him, Knueppel was no longer in Flagg’s shadow and finally had the opportunity to blossom into the player he was always meant to be.

That opportunity has clearly paid off, as this season, Knueppel has been having one of the best rookie seasons for a perimeter player ever, with him averaging 19.2 points, 3.4 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game.

Not only is Knueppel averaging amazing stats, but he’s doing it on generational efficacy, with him shooting splits of 49.1% FG, 44.2% 3PT, and 89.3% FT. Knueppel is also on track to become the first rookie in NBA history to join the 50/40/90 club, all while shooting a high volume of shots.

Knueppel currently leads the NBA in made three pointers with 222, and has already set a new rookie record for made threes.

Knuepple has also become the fastest player to reach 100 three pointers and the fastest to reach 200 three pointers, with him achieving these records in 29 games and 58 games, respectively.

Knueppel’s generational three-point shot has many fans wondering if Knueppel could surpass Curry’s three-point record, or even steal his crown as the best shooter of all time.

Saint Paul’s senior Evan Vanderbrook is a die-hard Curry fan and is impressed by Knueppel, ” I grew up watching Steph play every day, and as much as I hate to say it, if anyone’s gonna break Curry’s record, it’s gonna be Kon. He’s already leading the NBA this season in total threes as a rookie, which Curry didn’t do until his fourth season,” stated Vanderbrook.

Knuepple’s three-point efficiency is extremely impressive; however, it’s not even the most impressive thing he is doing.

Currently, Knuepple’s true shooting percentage is 64.5%, which is the highest for any rookie in NBA history with at least a 20% usage rate in 1,200 or more minutes. What’s even more impressive about that is that a large majority of rookies on that leaderboard are centers, and the only non-bigs near the top of the list are Magic Johnson, Charles Barkley, James Worthy, and Michael Jordan, which is definitely good company to be in.

When compared to the league’s current top players, Knueppel’s true shooting percentage dwarfs that of all the all-star starters besides Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Needless to say, Knuepple is possibly the most efficient rookie of all time.

Knueppel’s historic season has also made the Hornets one of the hottest teams in the league, as the Hornets are now in the hunt for a playoff spot after going 18-3 in their last 21 games.

Another team that has heated up since this draft is the Philadelphia 76ers, who drafted V.J. Edgecombe, aka “The Generator.”

During the lottery, the 76ers luckily jumped up two spots, allowing them to keep their pick and draft Baylor guard, Edgecombe.

Edgecombe has been one of the most explosive and exciting players in the whole draft, with him averaging an impressive 15.3 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 4 assists per game.

Edgecombe’s current averages have him ranked 3rd in points, 3rd in assists, and 1st in steals among rookies.

What’s even more impressive about Edgecombe’s stats is that he’s putting them up while playing for a winning team.

Dylan Harper is the only other rookie worth mentioning that’s also playing for a winning team, and he’s coming off the bench while Edgecombe is playing 35 minutes a game for the 76ers.

Those impressive numbers didn’t come out of nowhere, as he began making his mark on the league early in the season, and he hasn’t taken his foot off the gas yet.

Edgecombe showed the league how explosive he was by going on an incredible scoring run in October, with him dropping 34 points, 7 rebounds, and 3 assists while shooting 50% from the field in just his first game.

This is easily one of the best first-game performances of all time, second only to Michael Carter-Williams.

Following his first game, Edgecombe kept going strong, managing to average 21.2 points per game in October.

Edgecombe’s stats have been impressive so far; his efficiency has definitely been his weakness.

This season, Edgecombe has been shooting just 42% from the field and 35% from 3-point range, which is a slight improvement on the 34% he averaged at Baylor, showing that while he’s made some improvements, he still has a long way to go.

Another rookie that’s been explosive recently is New Orleans Pelicans center Derik Queen.

After making the jaw-dropping decision to trade away their highly coveted unprotected 2026 first-round pick, the Pelicans selected Maryland big man Derik Queen.

When the Pelicans traded their pick away to get back into the draft, many fans were outraged, as they knew that they would miss out on the opportunity to draft a top prospect like Darryn Peterson or AJ Dybantsa; however, some fans have learned to accept the trade as a win.

Saint Paul’s senior Connor White is a lifelong Pelicans fan and is satisfied with the trade, “At first, I honestly thought this was the worst trade since the Luka Doncic trade. On paper, we were giving up a top-three pick for the 13th pick. However, after watching Queen play like an absolute boss every game, I’ve realized that whether or not we could have gotten a top pick, we now have one of the best rookies in the class.”

Queen has quickly become one of the most exciting pieces for the New Orleans Pelicans, averaging 12.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game while thriving with the minutes he’s received.

Among rookies, Queen ranks 2nd in rebounds, 2nd in assists, 2nd in blocks, and 5th in steals, which shows how dominant Queen is among his peers.

Queen has made an immediate impact on both sides of the court, with him not only acting as a big body in the paint, but also at times bringing the ball up the court, making plays, and making sneaky passes.

His style of play is very similar to elite players like Jokic and Alperen Sengun, who also have an old-school back-to-basket style of play.

Even though Queen is built to dominate in the paint, he still has a killer jump shot for a big man, with him shooting 52% from two-point range, and hitting the occasional three-pointer.

Queen also proved he could dominate against another crafty big, when he scored 30 points on 66% shooting against the Denver Nuggets, even though he was being guarded by the best center in the league, Jokic.

Queen also dropped a historic 33-point triple-double in a game against the San Antonio Spurs, where he yet again proved he could dominate against one of the best centers in the league. In this game, Queen was truly in his bag, shooting 73% from the field, and dishing out 10 assists while only having 4 turnovers.

Not only was Queen an offensive machine in this game, but he was also hustling on defense, getting 4 rough blocks.

Queen’s triple-double was also one for the history books, as it made him one of only three rookie big men in history to drop a 30-point triple-double.

On top of his elite passing and scoring, Queen is also an elite free-throw shooter, hitting 80% of his free throws, and his ability to set screens has massively improved the Pelicans’ offense.

Queen is also a great rebounder, as he uses his 6’9”, 250-pound frame to dominate both offensive and defensive rebounds.

Defensively, Queen has shown that he can make a huge impact with his size and strength when he wants to; however, at times, it definitely feels like he slacks on defense.

Despite his successes, the injuries to the Pelicans’ roster and a new head coach have led to Queen getting inconsistent playing time.

If given consistent minutes, he could definitely grow to be the franchise’s star that it’s been trying to find for years.

If the 2025-2026 NBA season has made one thing clear, it’s that this rookie class is something special.

Flagg’s clutch scoring, Knueppel’s generational efficiency and deadly shooting, Edgecombe’s explosive athleticism, and Queen’s dominance in the post show just how amazing this class is.

If they continue to grow at this rate, this rookie class will shape the next era of basketball.

Featured Image Photo Credit: Kevin O’Connor

Video #1 Credit: ESPN (YouTube)

Video #2 Credit: NBA (YouTube)