Here’s the latest I can share on the NBA Rookie of the Year race.
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The ROY race is highly dynamic and often hinges on late-season performances and awards voting, with several rookies typically in the mix depending on team context and playing time. For the 2023-24 season, Victor Wembanyama was widely recognized as the frontrunner in most early-to-midseason discussions, with Paolo Banchero and other rookies also receiving consideration as the year progressed. The 2024-25 and 2025-26 cycles continued to feature multiple rookies contending for the honors as newcomers earned bigger roles and teams leaned on them in crunch time, per coverage of annual ROY narratives.[3][4][7]
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Recent explicit announcements and winners: NBA.com’s historical page lists Kia Rookie of the Year winners by season, with 2023-24 designated to Victor Wembanyama and 2024-25 to Paolo Banchero, while 2025-26 credits Cooper Flagg as Rookie of the Year in some outlets, reflecting continued movement in the race across seasons.[4][8][3]
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For the most current, precise winner and voting breakdown for the latest season, I recommend checking authoritative outlets on the day the award is announced (NBA.com, ESPN, CBS Sports) since the winner can depend on late-season performance and official voting tallies released after the season concludes.[7][3]
Illustration: A typical ROY progression looks like a heat map across rookies’ points, assists, and win-share contributions as the season nears its end, with one or two players emerging as clear frontrunners before final voting.
If you’d like, I can pull the most up-to-date winner and voting details from major outlets and present a concise, cited summary. I can also create a quick chart showing ROY contenders’ season-long scoring, assists, and win shares to visualize who was leading at different milestones.