College sports

It’s been a “big year” for the projected No. 1 pick in next year’s NBA draft.

By Amin Touri, The Boston Globe

October 30, 2024 | 9:18 a.m.

Duke freshman and Maine native Cooper Flagg signs NIL deal with Gatorade, making him the sports drink giant’s first male college basketball athlete.

The deal was announced Tuesday as Flagg joins women’s basketball stars JuJu Watkins and Paige Bueckers among Gatorade’s lineup of college athletes.

“This has been a big year for me on and off the field, and Gatorade has been there the whole way,” Flagg said in a statement. “Since being named Gatorade’s Most Valuable Male Player of the Year and officially joining the team, it’s been surreal to see my name mentioned with some of the biggest names in basketball.”

Endorsement deals were pouring in for Flagg before he even played his first competitive collegiate game. Flag signed a shoe contract in August with Boston-based New Balance, which has a factory near its hometown in Maine.

Flagg had a team-high 22 points in Duke’s exhibition win over Division 2 Lincoln University, but was fairly quiet in a dominant win over Arizona State.

Flagg, the No. 1 pick predicted for next year NBA Draft, will make his regular season debut in Duke’s opener against Maine on Nov. 4, a game that was scheduled because of Flagg’s connection.

The consensus top recruit in the Class of 2024, which he reclassified to enroll at Duke at age 17, Flagg has looked like a future NBA star since his freshman year at Nokomis Regional High, where he led the Warriors to a Class A State Championship and was named Gatorade Player of the Year in Maine.

Flagg transferred to Montverde Academy in Florida and became the most sought-after recruit in the country. He spent the summer as the only collegiate player named to the USA Select team, where he turned many heads against Team USA’s eventual Olympic gold medalists.