Cooper Flagg Injured His Ankle In Duke’s ACC Tournament Opener
ESPN The star freshman had to be helped to the locker room and was ruled out for the game (but did return to the bench) with an ankle injury.
As the NBA season enters its final month, there are a number of teams that have fully shifted their focus to the upcoming NBA Draft. The Jazz, Blazers, Wizards, Hornets, Nets, and Raptors were all expected to be in the mix for top lottery odds this season, while the Pelicans and Sixers have crashed the party as well after rather disastrous seasons.
The player that all of those teams are hoping they’ll have the chance to take in June’s NBA Draft is Cooper Flagg, as the outstanding freshman from Duke has separated himself at the top of this year’s Draft class with a sensational season in Durham. Flagg is not just the top freshman in the country, but has a chance to be named the nation’s best player, averaging 19.4 points, 7.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game on 49.4/37.7/83.0 shooting splits.
On Thursday, Flagg’s Blue Devils opened their ACC Tournament schedule with a game against Georgia Tech and got off to a disastrous start, falling behind to the 8-seed by double digits early and then saw things go from bad to worse when Flagg crumpled to the floor after turning his left ankle.
Flagg would be helped to the locker room and then taken to the evaluation room in a wheelchair, signaling concern about the severity of his injury. The freshman star would return to the Duke bench (with both shoes on), but was ruled out for the game by the team with an ankle injury and his status for the rest of the ACC Tournament (and, later, the NCAA Tournament) is still unknown.
For Duke fans, they will be very concerned about their ability to win an ACC Tournament title or make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament if they are without their young star forward — although they did come back to beat the Yellow Jackets and advance to the semifinals. From an NBA perspective, the injury shouldn’t impact his status as the presumptive No. 1 pick, but teams will certainly be monitoring his recovery as the lottery approaches.
