Catastrophe struck in the first quarterfinal of the ACC Tournament on Thursday, as Duke superstar and likely No. 1 overall pick Cooper Flagg suffered what appeared to be a significant ankle injury against Georgia Tech.
Flagg was helped to the locker room by trainers without putting any weight on his leg. The ESPN broadcast caught him being taken to the X-ray room via wheelchair shortly after, a sobering sight considering the potential implications of a long term injury.
Cooper Flagg exited the game and was helped to the locker room after appearing to injure his left ankle in the first half against Georgia Tech. pic.twitter.com/EiUslVt0ZM
— ESPN (@espn) March 13, 2025
The injury occurred when Flagg landed awkwardly after collecting a rebound with a 2:47 remaining in the first half. Flagg went down hard and immediately clutched his ankle before hobbling to the bench, clearly in severe pain.
The injury was immediately reminiscent of the broken leg that Cincinnati’s Kenyon Martin suffered in the opening round of the 2000 Conference USA Tournament against Saint Louis.
Martin was the consensus National Player of the Year that season and Cincinnati entered the Big East Tournament with a 26-4 record with a No. 1 seed all but locked up. The Bearcats ended up losing that game to Saint Louis and dropped to the two line in the NCAA Tournament, where they were eventually upset by No. 7 seed Tulsa.
Flagg was officially ruled out of the game early in the second half, though he did rejoin his team on the bench for the remainder of the contest without a boot and was even standing and cheering at times.
Ballislife will provide further updates regarding Flagg’s condition and potential NCAA tournament status as they arrive.
Obviously with Flagg in the lineup, Duke is one of the favorites to reach the NCAA Final Four in San Antonio. From a fan and viewing perspective, his absence would be a significant blow in the light of the season ending for Rutgers and its two star freshmen: Dylan Harper and Ace Bailey. Those two, who some feel were the players to potentially challenge Flagg to go No. 1 in the 2025 NBA Draft, will not play in the tournament and not having all three would be significant news.
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