Duke commit Cooper Flagg partners with SLAM, releases shirts for Lewiston-Auburn Response Fund

Cooper Flagg has made his decision.

The nation’s top recruit in the 2024 class has committed to Duke, sources told On3’s Joe Tipton on Monday morning. The Five-Star Plus+ small forward made it official with a full spread in SLAM, becoming the first player to ever commit on the magazine’s cover.

Along with the release of a limited-edition cover, SLAM and Flagg have partnered to release a string of T-shirts to celebrate the moment. The shirts are priced at $45.

According to the magazine’s website, a portion of the proceeds from the shirts will go to the Lewiston-Auburn Response Fund, which was created to address current and emerging needs associated with the mass shooting in Maine last week.

The 6-foot-8 forward is from Newport, Maine, which is about an hour from Lewiston. A product of Maine, his mother, Kelly, played basketball at the University of Maine in the 1990s.

“All of our focus should be on supporting the victims, their families, and law enforcement — everything else can wait,” Cooper Flagg wrote on X on Thursday night. “My heart is with Maine.”

After becoming the first-ever freshman to be selected as Maine’s Gatorade Player of the Year, he transferred to basketball powerhouse Montverde Academy in Florida after his freshman season. Flagg averaged 9.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and three assists per game in his first season at Montverde, which firmly established him as the consensus No. 1 prospect in the 2024 recruiting class.

While it is unclear if he signed an NIL deal with SLAM, because Montverde plays a national schedule, Flagg does not have to follow the Florida High School Athletic Association’s policy, which prohibits high schoolers from signing NIL deals and maintaining eligibility.

Inside decision to commit to Duke

With his Maine United team this past summer, Flagg led Nike’s EYBL E16 Circuit in points (26.9) and blocks (4.5) during the regular season. In his team’s run to the Peach Jam finals, he averaged 25.4 points, 13.0 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 6.9 blocks through the seven games.

Now the forward has made his commitment, set to play for Jon Scheyer and the Blue Devils. On3’s Jamie Shaw wrote Monday that Flagg, “is someone who affects the game across the board. Whether his player archetype is classified as a two-way wing or a play-making wing, up until this point, the 6-foot-8 Flagg firmly plants his fingerprints on the outcome of each game he plays.”

Flagg has classified Duke as a dream school, picking the Blue Devils over reigning national champions UConn.

“Growing up, Duke was always my dream school,” he said. “I always looked up to all the Duke players, watched all their games, and stuff like that. I could see myself fitting in well with their play style. They have a lot of versatile guys so I think I’d fit in pretty well.”

NIL agents react to Flagg picking Duke

Cooper Flagg is the latest big-time pickup for Scheyer. The top recruit in his class, it’s a major win for the Blue Devils.

But for the small forward, it’s a smart move to have his name associated with the Duke brand.

“Flagg committing to Duke is the perfect recipe for personal brand success,” an agent, who requested anonymity, told On3. “The top recruit — and likely number one pick in the 2025 NBA Draft — will have the opportunity to take his story national at the top program in men’s basketball. No matter the wins and losses — like Notre Dame in football — Duke is always on TV and a headline conversation nationally. Should he choose to fully engage in NIL, Flagg will have unlimited opportunities.”

NIL collectives have become a key way to attract talent in football and basketball.

“Duke has one of the best NIL collectives in the country, if not the best,” Chris Wash of Levelution Sports Agency told On3. “The fact that Cooper partnered with SLAM to announce his commitment was a big-time move. SLAM has a huge reach and has been around for over 20 years. Cooper had to get a seven-figure deal to whatever school he was going to commit to.”

Duke was also the first Power 5 program to bring in a general manager. A former Nike employee, Rachel Baker’s duties range from assisting athletes navigate NIL opportunities and their professional development.

“In recent history, Duke has done arguably the best job of cultivating the brands of high-profile high school athletes before they become lottery picks in the NBA Draft,” added Jordan Gazdik, a sports business consultant for StonebriarX. “The structure of their organization, professionalism, resources, and on-court success allow for someone like Flagg to become who he wants to be off the court.

“Duke was the first Power 5 basketball program to higher a GM that will strategically oversee the business development of their athletes, they have classes on social media brand development and a very deep rolodex of alumni.”

Cooper Flagg’s On3 NIL Valuation

The new Duke commit holds an $872,000 On3 NIL Valuation, ranking No. 2 in high school basketball. His valuation is sure to jump with his decision. The valuation is No. 28 in the On3 NIL 100, the first of its kind and defacto NIL ranking of the top 100 high school and college athletes ranked by their On3 NIL Valuation.

Cooper Flagg has a major social media following, sitting at more than 472,000 followers.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. A proprietary algorithm, the On3 NIL Valuation calculates an athlete’s NIL value using dynamic data points targeting three primary categories: performance, influence and exposure.

About On3 NIL Valuation, Brand Value, Roster Value

While the algorithm includes deal data, it does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals athletes have completed to date, nor does it set an athlete’s NIL valuation for their entire career.