Top Basketball Recruit Flagg Announces Duke Commitment with SLAM Magazine Cover

Projected number one pick in 2025 NBA Draft chooses Blue Devils over defending champion UConn.

The top ranked high school basketball recruit in the 2024 class, Cooper Flagg, committed to Duke through a historic partnership with SLAM Magazine. 

The 6'8" small forward and Five-Star Plus+ prospect from Newport, Maine is the first player to reveal a college commitment via a SLAM cover. After his upcoming reclassified season year at Montverde Academy in Florida, Flagg - also the top NBA prospect for the 2025 Draft - will head to Durham for at least one season.

In addition to his magazine cover, Flagg and SLAM launched a collection of t-shirts ($45) with a portion of the proceeds going to the Lewiston-Auburn Response Fund, supporting victims and survivors of the tragic mass shooting in Maine last week, an hour away from Flagg's hometown.

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“I think after I got on campus at Duke, I really started to feel it, to be honest,” he shared in the SLAM cover story. “That’s something the coaches definitely stressed to me, that once you get to campus, it’s something you have to feel. And [I knew then] I wanted to go to Duke and that’s where I wanted to play college basketball. What went into the decision, I mean, I was just looking for a coaching staff I was really comfortable with, but [also] a coach and staff that was really going to hold me accountable. Being on the visit, I got to see them in practice, and see how they were holding their guys accountable, and really pushing them to be better. For me, ever since I was a little kid, I always had dreams of playing Division I basketball at the highest level. Especially with a place like Duke, once we got to campus, we felt it."

With Flagg leading the way, Coach Jon Scheyer now has the nation's top-ranked recruiting class, with potential to still land five-stars Dylan Harper and V.J. Edgecombe. The Blue Devils enter this season ranked number two in the country, behind Kansas.

“I’m honored that I have the opportunity to join The Brotherhood, and hopefully I’ll be one of the players that recruits are looking at some day and someone they can see themselves being. Especially from all the love I saw this last weekend when I was there, it made me really excited, all the [Cameron] Crazies and the fans. I think it’s going to be a really exciting year and [fans] should just get ready because I know that I’m all about winning, so I’m trying to keep that winning culture that Duke has.”