Cooper Flagg injury update: Duke star's status for remainder of Georgia Tech game revealed

The No. 1-ranked Duke Blue Devils will be without two of its most talented big men for the remainder of their ACC Tournament quarterfinal against Georgia Tech. The team revealed the news to start the second half Thursday.

ACC Player of the Year and Duke freshman superstar forward Cooper Flagg is officially out with a left ankle injury suffered late in the first half Thursday, according to the team. The same is true for junior forward Maliq Brown, who re-aggravated a left shoulder injury earlier in the first half.

Flagg was reportedly spotted leaving the Duke locker room with his shoes on — a noticable improvement from the image of a barefoot Flagg being wheeled into the locker room at halftime — and didn’t show any noticable limp, according to Bryan Fischer. Flagg made his way back to the Blue Devils bench and was seen encouraging his team, according to a picture posted by Rob Dauster.

HE IS BACK ON THE BENCH!!! pic.twitter.com/OOmfuB6z56

— Rob Dauster (@RobDauster) March 13, 2025

“Before the break we saw Cooper Flagg wheeled to a room for X-rays, the good news here is he’s able to walk on his own (and is) coming back to the floor,” ESPN sideline reported Jemel Spearman said on ESPN. “He was getting looked at for his ankle. Yes, Duke is on a 12-0 run, but the fans in this building were cheering for (Flagg) walking all the way back to the bench. He’s officially ruled out today because of the ankle. But to see him on the floor, you mention how tough this guy is, he wanted to be here for his teammates and is hopeful for what goes on moving past this game.”

Brown is still recovering from a dislocated left shoulder suffered in mid-February against Virginia, with X-rays and an MRI revealing the damage. Brown has also missed time this season with a sprained toe and a sprained knee.

Brown didn’t record any stats Thursday after just about four minutes of action after coming off the bench against Georgia Tech. Meanwhile, Flagg was struggling through a 1-of-7 shooting start for just 2 first-half points Thursday. Neither returned to the floor for the start of the second half.

Along with being named the ACC Player of the Year, ACC Rookie of the Year, and an All-ACC First Team selection, Flagg is considered the frontrunner for National Player of the Year as well as National Freshman of the Year while averaging 19.4 points on 49.4% shooting — including 37.7-percent from 3-point range — along with 7.6 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.3 blocks per game this season.

On3’s Sam Gillenwater contributed to this report.