{"id":2007498,"date":"2026-06-24T00:25:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T21:25:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2007498"},"modified":"2026-06-24T00:25:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-23T21:25:48","slug":"memphis-grizzlies-select-cameron-boozer-with-the-no-3-pick-in-the-2026-nba-draft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2007498","title":{"rendered":"Memphis Grizzlies select Cameron Boozer with the No. 3 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p><i>The Athletic has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/live-blogs\/nba-draft-2026-live-updates-round-1-tracker-results-giannis-antetokounmpo\/NJNyRbgefCcT\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">live coverage<\/a> of the 2026 NBA Draft.<\/i><\/p>\n<p>The Memphis Grizzlies selected Cameron Boozer with the No. 3 pick on Tuesday in the NBA Draft.<\/p>\n<p>Boozer was the most productive player in his age group and arguably the most productive freshman in college basketball history. At Duke, Boozer shot 55.6 percent from the field, 39.1 percent from 3 and 78.9 percent from the line. Per Sports-Reference, Boozer became the first player (regardless of class) to average 22 points, 10 rebounds and four assists while shooting 55 percent from the field and playing at least 20 games.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Because he\u2019s so strong and balanced, he can anchor to his position and carve out space on the interior, then elevate to get the ball. He has consistently led just about every league he\u2019s ever played in as a rebounder. He measured a<strong>\u00a0<\/strong>7-foot-1.5 wingspan at the combine, standing 6 feet 8.25 inches without shoes. As a four, he has enough size. But if and when he has to transition to the five in certain lineups, he will be well below average, and it\u2019ll be a serious issue on defense.<\/p>\n<h2>Sam Vecenie\u2019s draft guide summary<\/h2>\n<div data-ath-video-stream=\"zn8piJWz3zxDREL\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_Root__QeM_i\">\n<div class=\"VideoHost_VideoWidth__XjNKI VideoHost_Portrait__XBaJC\">\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Root__AGckL\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Title__npf3B\">Why Cameron Boozer produces and wins at every level<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_Authors__jxyYV\">Sam Vecenie<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"VideoTitleFrame_VideoWrapper__Xgp47\">{&#8220;@context&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/schema.org&#8221;,&#8221;@type&#8221;:&#8221;VideoObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/zn8piJWz3zxDREL\/&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/video\/zn8piJWz3zxDREL\/&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Why Cameron Boozer produces and wins at every level&#8221;,&#8221;description&#8221;:&#8221;Sam Vecenie examines why Cameron Boozer is one of the most statistically dominant prospects in recent memory and how his all-around game translates to the modern NBA.&#8221;,&#8221;uploadDate&#8221;:&#8221;2026-06-09T19:48:16.757Z&#8221;,&#8221;duration&#8221;:&#8221;PT2M30S&#8221;,&#8221;thumbnailUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/cdn-media.theathletic.com\/video-stream\/auto-thumbnail\/zn8piJWz3zxDREL\/vg8sebRZu36j.0000000.jpg&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/video.nyt.com\/athletic\/streams\/zn8piJWz3zxDREL\/vg8sebRZu36j\/vg8sebRZu36j.m3u8&#8243;,&#8221;transcript&#8221;:&#8221;Duke&#8217;s Cam Boozer produces and wins basketball games. It&#8217;s what he&#8217;s done at every level of basketball to this point, and he&#8217;s exactly what NBA teams are looking for and they say that they want players who can dribble, pass, shoot, and think on the court. Here&#8217;s why Boozer is an elite prospect in the 2026 NBA draft. Boozer is one of the most statistically dominant players we&#8217;ve seen enter the NBA in a long time, averaging 22.5 points, 10 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 56% from the field, 39% from 3. And 79% from the line. His hands are elite. He&#8217;s strong as a tank. His footwork is pristine. He&#8217;s multi-skilled and incredibly versatile. He&#8217;s not just a post big though. That makes him so difficult to game plan for. He can beat you in ball screens as both a ball handler and as a screener. He can beat you as a floor spacing shooter. He can attack closeouts or he can post you up and score that way too. He has a brilliant basketball mind and he passes really well. Here are a couple of plays that showcase these skills. Watch him catch this on the block, see the. Will come from Henri Vasar and immediately diagnose where to put the ball. Then he relocates out to the three-point line, creates an easy passing angle for his brother Cayden and cashes a 3. Because he can shoot, that opens up his driving ability. Here against Caleb Wilson in an earlier game, he&#8217;ll pump fake, attack Wilson&#8217;s closeout, get leverage on him, and use that jump stop to get to the other side of the rim, protect the ball and finish. Duke&#8217;s favorite set this year was an inverted ball screen involving Boozer as the play. Maker and an elite shooter in Isaiah Evans screening and slipping out to the three-point line. Here you get to watch Boozer&#8217;s polished handle and pure power as he drives William Kyle backward, hits him with a pump fake, hits the lefty finish. Or he can hurt you as a playmaker like in this one where he takes a flip screen from Malik Brown, calmly eats up the space in Virginia Tech&#8217;s drop coverage defense, draws the big defender toward him, recognizes that Neil Abdulla is late with the tag on the backside as Brown rolls to the rim. And he hits a beautiful lob to Brown here for the dunk. Boozer&#8217;s game is like if you plopped Kevin Love from 20 years ago into a modern basketball ecosystem and allowed him to develop his perimeter skills from a younger age. Love got those skills by his 4th year in the NBA. He averaged 26 and 13 and made a 2nd team all NBA. Boozer already has those as a teenager. You&#8217;ll need to create a positive defensive environment, but he has a chance to be one of the NBA&#8217;s truly elite players by the time he hits his prime.&#8221;,&#8221;ineligibleRegion&#8221;:[&#8220;BI&#8221;,&#8221;BY&#8221;,&#8221;CD&#8221;,&#8221;CF&#8221;,&#8221;CU&#8221;,&#8221;IQ&#8221;,&#8221;IR&#8221;,&#8221;KP&#8221;,&#8221;LB&#8221;,&#8221;LY&#8221;,&#8221;ML&#8221;,&#8221;NI&#8221;,&#8221;RU&#8221;,&#8221;SD&#8221;,&#8221;SO&#8221;,&#8221;SS&#8221;,&#8221;SY&#8221;,&#8221;UA&#8221;,&#8221;VE&#8221;,&#8221;YE&#8221;,&#8221;ZW&#8221;],&#8221;publisher&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;NewsMediaOrganization&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/#publisher&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/&#8221;,&#8221;foundingDate&#8221;:&#8221;2016-01-25&#8243;,&#8221;logo&#8221;:{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;ImageObject&#8221;,&#8221;@id&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;url&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;contentUrl&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/theathletic.com\/app\/themes\/athletic\/assets\/img\/the-athletic-wordmark-black.png&#8221;,&#8221;creditText&#8221;:&#8221;The Athletic&#8221;,&#8221;height&#8221;:&#8221;60&#8243;,&#8221;width&#8221;:&#8221;435&#8243;},&#8221;publishingPrinciples&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/edit-guidelines\/&#8221;,&#8221;sameAs&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Athletic&#8221;},&#8221;author&#8221;:[{&#8220;@type&#8221;:&#8221;Person&#8221;,&#8221;name&#8221;:&#8221;Sam Vecenie&#8221;}]}<\/p>\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_root__AKv5b\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16;max-height:min(100%)\">\n<div class=\"AspectRatioBox_inner__86C_2\" style=\"aspect-ratio:9 \/ 16\">\n<div class=\"VideoStreamPlayer_GridStack__2H0p2\"><video preload=\"none\"><\/video><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Boozer is one of the most statistically dominant players we\u2019ve seen enter the NBA in a long time. He\u2019s won at every single level and dominated with his play. He is multiskilled and incredibly versatile, which makes him exceptionally difficult to game plan for. As a scorer, he can beat you in ball screens both as a ballhandler and screener. He can beat you as a floor-spacing shooter. He can attack closeouts or he can post you up and score that way through his physicality. He has a brilliant basketball mind, passes incredibly well and understands how to put his teams into positive positions. I think he\u2019s pretty close to a can\u2019t-fail offensive prospect. I don\u2019t see him as a Nikola Joki\u0107-level processor of the game, and his lack of size compared to the Serbian star is an issue. However, I think the odds are that he\u2019s above the level of Alperen \u015eeng\u00fcn, who has made two All-Star Games and been remarkably productive in the NBA.<\/p>\n<p id=\"article-pickem\">\n<div id=\"top-league-content-root\"><\/div>\n<p>    {&#8220;endpoint&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql&#8221;}<\/p>\n<p>The only reason I didn\u2019t have Boozer at No. 1 is that I think his skills play better as a No. 2 type of star in the NBA. The odds are somewhat high that teams will take advantage of Boozer defensively, even though he\u2019s a sharp decision-maker and processor with good hands. Additionally, I worry about him creating advantages in the NBA versus simply being one of the best players at taking advantage of situations created for him. Still, I don\u2019t see a world in which Boozer isn\u2019t at least an excellent starter with significant All-Star upside, unless the defense really becomes a problem if his body fills out even more. I\u2019d bet a lot on his versatility making him a multi-time All-NBA player in terms of his production.<\/p>\n<p>@font-face{font-family:nyt-franklin;src:url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-500.0f4aea3d462cdb64748629efcbbf36bc.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-500.cb85480c30b6ca5f53f673993211036f.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-500.9061b25032eb73a747c2edf738888891.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-style:normal;font-weight:500;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:nyt-franklin;src:url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-700.91eaf6b5642463af4091160b4bbfdfcb.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-700.ab057a3b069a4ecbde7c3ea74411284e.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-700.3acbe40693cbd3029afc346368ed1b29.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-style:normal;font-weight:700;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:nyt-franklin;src:url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-600.75739ac267f076931c6da9740386ee6b.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-600.e27b5ffa7bfaa0ac78e146668c74e6f4.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-600.23949bc217f2c95dfe21d3e66ba59445.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-style:normal;font-weight:600;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:nyt-franklin;src:url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-300.a6479a5200f9a6352bdb71589c27c9c3.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-300.a6479a5200f9a6352bdb71589c27c9c3.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/g1.nyt.com\/fonts\/family\/franklin\/franklin-normal-300.a6479a5200f9a6352bdb71589c27c9c3.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-style:normal;font-weight:300;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:nyt-franklin-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Bold.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Bold.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Bold.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:nyt-franklin-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Medium.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Medium.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Medium.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:nyt-franklin-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Light.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Light.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Light.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:300;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:nyt-franklin-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Extra_Light.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Extra_Light.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/NYTFranklin-Condensed\/NYTFranklin-Condensed_Extra_Light.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:200;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Thin.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Thin.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Thin.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:100;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-ThinItalic.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-ThinItalic.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-ThinItalic.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:100;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Light.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Light.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Light.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:300;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-LightItalic.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-LightItalic.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-LightItalic.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:300;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Regular.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Regular.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Regular.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:400;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-RegularItalic.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-RegularItalic.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-RegularItalic.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:400;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Medium.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Medium.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Medium.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:500;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-MediumItalic.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-MediumItalic.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-MediumItalic.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:500;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Bold.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Bold.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Bold.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:700;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-BoldItalic.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-BoldItalic.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-BoldItalic.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:700;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Heavy.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Heavy.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Heavy.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:800;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-HeavyItalic.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-HeavyItalic.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-HeavyItalic.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:800;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Black.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Black.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-Black.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:900;font-style:normal;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n@font-face{font-family:ta-review-condensed;src:url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-BlackItalic.woff2) format(&#8220;woff2&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-BlackItalic.woff) format(&#8220;woff&#8221;),url(https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/fonts\/Review\/ReviewCondensed-BlackItalic.ttf) format(&#8220;truetype&#8221;);font-weight:900;font-style:italic;font-display:swap}<br \/>\n.tk-embed-wrapper-class{&#8211;nba-draft-orange:#e95f33;&#8211;g-color-grays-10:rgb(255,255,255);&#8211;g-franklin-condensed:&#8221;nyt-franklin-condensed&#8221;, var(&#8211;g-franklin);&#8211;nba-draft-beige:#f2ebda;&#8211;g-review-condensed:&#8221;ta-review-condensed&#8221;, var(&#8211;g-franklin-condensed);&#8211;g-color-middle-green:#00654D;&#8211;g-color-grays-80:rgb(18,18,18);&#8211;g-franklin:&#8221;nyt-franklin&#8221;, arial, helvetica, sans-serif;&#8211;g-player-photo-bg-color:var(&#8211;nba-draft-beige);&#8211;g-color-grays-30:rgb(194,194,192);&#8211;g-color-grays-70:rgb(50,50,50);&#8211;g-color-grays-20:rgb(240,240,238);}<br \/>\n.tk-embed-wrapper-class.svelte-1ma8250{.graphic-wrapper-link.svelte-1ma8250{text-decoration:none!important}}<\/p>\n<p>.position-rank-badge.svelte-j9csdc{display:inline-flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center;gap:2px;background-color:var(&#8211;nba-draft-orange);color:var(&#8211;g-color-grays-10);border-radius:8px 8px 0 0;padding:4px 8px;font-family:var(&#8211;g-franklin-condensed);font-weight:400;font-size:11px;text-transform:uppercase;letter-spacing:.02em;line-height:1;white-space:nowrap;@media (min-width: 359px){font-size:12px}@media (min-width: 600px){font-size:13px}.position-rank-badge__position.svelte-j9csdc{font-weight:400}.position-rank-badge__rank.svelte-j9csdc{font-weight:500}}.player-card.svelte-1u319qg{display:flex;flex-direction:row;align-items:center;justify-content:space-between;gap:16px;background-color:var(&#8211;nba-draft-beige);position:relative;border-radius:8px;width:100%;margin:0 auto;overflow:hidden;box-sizing:border-box;max-width:674px;transition:all .2s ease;&#8211;g-player-photo-bg-color: var(&#8211;nba-draft-beige);&amp;:hover{filter:brightness(.96);.recirc-link.svelte-1u319qg,.player-name.svelte-1u319qg{text-decoration:none}}@media (min-width: 720px){min-width:600px;max-width:720px}@media (min-width: 1439px){margin:0}.position-rank-container.svelte-1u319qg{margin-bottom:.75rem}.player-card__pos-rank.svelte-1u319qg{width:38px;min-width:38px;text-align:center;align-self:center;padding:12px 0;@media (min-width: 379px){width:46px;min-width:46px}@media (min-width: 500px){width:58px;min-width:58px}@media (min-width: 720px){width:90px;min-width:90px}.player-card__pos-rank-number.svelte-1u319qg{font-family:var(&#8211;g-review-condensed);font-size:34px;text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:700;color:var(&#8211;g-color-middle-green);line-height:1;@media (min-width: 379px){font-size:38px}@media (min-width: 500px){font-size:42px}@media (min-width: 720px){font-size:45px}}}.player-card__player-info.svelte-1u319qg{flex:1;display:flex;flex-direction:column;align-items:flex-start;justify-content:flex-start;gap:.5rem;padding:10px 0;@media (min-width: 720px){gap:.75rem;min-width:430px;padding:20px 0}.player-name-and-school.svelte-1u319qg{display:flex;flex-direction:column;align-items:flex-start;justify-content:flex-start;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:6px;margin-bottom:.5rem;color:var(&#8211;g-color-grays-80);font-family:var(&#8211;g-franklin-condensed);font-weight:500;line-height:1;@media (min-width: 720px){flex-direction:row;align-items:center;justify-content:flex-start;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:12px}.player-name.svelte-1u319qg{font-size:24px;font-weight:500;line-height:1.1;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-underline-offset:2px;@media (min-width: 349px){font-size:24px}@media (min-width: 720px){font-size:32px;text-underline-offset:5px}}.player-school.svelte-1u319qg{font-size:12px;font-weight:300;white-space:nowrap;display:flex;align-items:center;gap:6px;position:relative;letter-spacing:.2px;font-family:var(&#8211;g-franklin);@media (min-width: 359px){font-size:13px}@media (min-width: 720px){font-size:15px;margin-top:12px}}}.content-wrapper.svelte-1u319qg{padding-left:16px}.player-card__tagline.svelte-1u319qg{font-size:13px;line-height:1.3;font-family:var(&#8211;g-franklin);color:var(&#8211;g-color-grays-80);margin:0;padding:0;text-align:left;@media (min-width: 359px){font-size:14px}@media (min-width: 379px){font-size:15px}@media (min-width: 500px){font-size:16px}@media (min-width: 720px){font-size:18px}}}.player-card__photo-container.svelte-1u319qg{align-self:stretch;display:flex;align-items:center;flex:0 0 120px;background-color:var(&#8211;g-player-photo-bg-color);border-left:1px solid var(&#8211;g-color-grays-30);@media (min-width: 549px){flex:0 0 200px;border-left:none}@media (min-width: 720px){background-color:transparent;flex:0 0 230px}.player-card__photo.svelte-1u319qg{overflow:hidden;height:100%;transition:all .1s ease;width:100%;img.svelte-1u319qg{transform:translateY(55%) scale(2.1);transition:all .1s ease;max-width:100%;@media (min-width: 549px){transform:translateY(3%) scale(1.2)}@media (min-width: 720px){transform:translateY(3%) scale(1.1)}@media (min-width: 720px){transform:translateY(3%) scale(1.05)}}}}&amp;.player-card&#8211;position-group{.player-card__player-info.svelte-1u319qg{flex-direction:row;@media (max-width: 769px){padding:12px 0}}.player-card__photo-container.svelte-1u319qg{@media (max-width: 600px){flex:0 0 90px}}.player-card__photo.svelte-1u319qg{height:110px;@media (max-width: 600px){height:110px}}}&amp;.compact{.player-card__pos-rank.svelte-1u319qg{padding:0}.player-card__player-info.svelte-1u319qg .content-wrapper.svelte-1u319qg{padding-left:0}.player-card__player-info.svelte-1u319qg{padding:6px 0;align-items:center;.player-name-and-school.svelte-1u319qg{margin-bottom:0;@media (min-width: 720px){flex-direction:row;align-items:center}}.player-card__tagline.svelte-1u319qg,.recirc-link.svelte-1u319qg{display:none}}.player-card__photo-container.svelte-1u319qg{display:flex;align-items:flex-end;justify-content:center;flex:0 0 75px;@media (min-width: 379px){flex:0 0 85px}@media (min-width: 439px){flex:0 0 105px}@media (min-width: 500px){flex:0 0 140px}@media (min-width: 600px){flex:0 0 180px}@media (min-width: 439px){background-color:transparent}.player-card__photo.svelte-1u319qg{height:100%;width:auto;overflow:hidden;img.svelte-1u319qg{width:100%;height:58px;object-fit:cover;transform:translateY(2%) scale(1.45);transform-origin:top center;object-position:top center;@media (min-width: 379px){transform:translateY(0) scale(1.5)}@media (min-width: 499px){transform:translateY(2%) scale(1.5)}@media (min-width: 600px){transform:translateY(3%) scale(1.3)}}}}}}.recirc-link.svelte-1u319qg{display:inline-block;margin-top:10px;font-size:13px;font-family:var(&#8211;g-franklin);color:var(&#8211;g-color-grays-80);text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:1px;text-underline-offset:2px;font-weight:600;@media (min-width: 379px){font-size:14px}@media (min-width: 720px){font-size:16px;margin-top:14px}}@media (prefers-color-scheme: dark){.native-mobile{.player-card.svelte-1u319qg{background-color:var(&#8211;g-color-grays-70);&#8211;g-player-photo-bg-color: var(&#8211;g-color-grays-70)}.player-card__tagline.svelte-1u319qg{color:var(&#8211;g-color-grays-20)!important}.player-card__player-info.svelte-1u319qg,.player-card__player-info.svelte-1u319qg .player-name-and-school.svelte-1u319qg,.player-card__player-info.svelte-1u319qg .player-school.svelte-1u319qg,.recirc-link.svelte-1u319qg{color:var(&#8211;g-color-grays-10)!important}}}<\/p>\n<div id=\"g-bk-VRlZQ16v5iHfRA\" class=\"birdkit-body g-bk-VRlZQ16v5iHfRA g-dark-mode-incompatible\" data-preview-slug=\"bk-VRlZQ16v5iHfRA\" data-birdkit-hydrate=\"bc9d65a974e1f84a\">\n<div class=\"tk-embed-wrapper-class graphics-container-impressions fp-ignore svelte-1ma8250\" data-module-label=\"nba_draft_guide_2026\" data-module-type=\"embed\" data-module-context=\"nba_draft_guide_2026\" data-module-id=\"player_card\"><a class=\"graphic-wrapper-link svelte-1ma8250\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/interactive\/nba-draft-guide-2026\/player\/cameron-boozer-duke-forward\/\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"player-card svelte-1u319qg\">\n<div class=\"player-card__player-info svelte-1u319qg\">\n<div class=\"content-wrapper svelte-1u319qg\">\n<div class=\"position-rank-container svelte-1u319qg\"><span class=\"position-rank-badge svelte-j9csdc\"><span class=\"position-rank-badge__position svelte-j9csdc\">Overall<\/span> <span class=\"position-rank-badge__rank svelte-j9csdc\">2<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"position-rank-badge svelte-j9csdc\"><span class=\"position-rank-badge__position svelte-j9csdc\">Forward<\/span> <span class=\"position-rank-badge__rank svelte-j9csdc\">1<\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<p> <span class=\"player-name-and-school svelte-1u319qg\"><span class=\"player-name svelte-1u319qg\"><span class=\"player-name-text\">Cameron Boozer<\/span><\/span> <span class=\"player-school svelte-1u319qg\">Duke<\/span><\/span> <\/p>\n<p class=\"player-card__tagline svelte-1u319qg\">Versatile, skilled forward with a brilliant offensive mind; needs to find a role on defense.<\/p>\n<p> <span class=\"recirc-link svelte-1u319qg\">Read full profile \u203a<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"player-card__photo-container svelte-1u319qg\">\n<div class=\"player-card__photo svelte-1u319qg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/graphics-cdn.theathletic.com\/nba-draft-guide-2026\/images\/cameron-boozer-duke-forward-profile.png\" alt=\"Photo of Cameron Boozer Duke\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"svelte-1u319qg\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<h2>John Hollinger\u2019s analysis<\/h2>\n<p>Similar to Cooper Flagg a year earlier, Boozer both destroyed college basketball and, at 18 years old, is the youngest college prospect in the draft.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid2\" data-position=\"mid2\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Yes, some weaknesses jump out when you watch Boozer. He struggles to elevate and finish against length around the rim, something that stood out when Virginia\u2019s Ugonna Onyenso repeatedly blocked his shot in the ACC championship game. Yes, Boozer\u2019s ability as a rim protector is suspect, to say the least, with a minuscule 0.9 percent block rate in conference games. Finally, at 6 feet 9 and 250 pounds, he\u2019s undersized for a center but may not have the mobility to play power forward.<\/p>\n<p>Boozer was basically \u201ccollege basketball Nikola Joki\u0107\u201d last season. He\u2019s a huge, wide big man who nonetheless can handle on the perimeter and shoot 3s (39.1 percent from distance, 78.9 percent from the line). Duke ran inverted pick-and-rolls for him last season, where he was picking out 3-point shooters on the weak side and flicking one-handed crosscourt passes. As a rule, teenage centers do not do this, and when they do, they turn out to be pretty special.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t worry about the defense, because the offense is going to be ridiculous. Pairing him with a mobile shot-blocker will be important, but Boozer\u2019s resume is overwhelming.<\/p>\n<h2>David Aldridge\u2019s draft confidential<\/h2>\n<p><strong>College head coach No. 1 (his team played Duke):<\/strong> All Booz has ever done is won. When we played them, watching him on tape, getting ready for them, when we played them, he played just an OK game against us. The thing that was most impressive to me, though, watching him live and watching on tape, was just how he carried himself, his demeanor. He reminded me, in that way, and this may sound crazy, of Tim Duncan. Tim was just even-keeled all the time, whether he did something exceptional, or if he screwed up. Booz had some wild plays this year. It was almost like, this is what I\u2019m supposed to do. He\u2019s so steady. He\u2019s so versatile. There\u2019s more that he can do. He can shoot; he\u2019s 40 percent from 3. And that\u2019s going to continue to get better.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Eastern Conference scout No. 1:<\/strong>\u00a0The thing he showed this year that I hadn\u2019t really seen before was passing. He showed he really could pass the ball this year. His 3-point shot can make him look really good. I saw a lot of summers where he didn\u2019t make 3s, and his shot, I don\u2019t know what his percentage was, I know I wrote reports where it was very poor, just going from high school to the international 3-point line. It seemed like it was much better this year. Sometimes it seems he shoots a moon shot, and it has very little chance of going in. If he can knock those down where he\u2019s 35 percent or better from 3 in the NBA, he\u2019s going to be a really, really good player. He\u2019s a winning player. I think he got his (basketball IQ) from his dad. His dad was really good in the post. He wasn\u2019t asked to do a lot of that (processing) stuff.<\/p>\n<p><em>This story will be updated.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Athletic has live coverage of the 2026 NBA Draft. The Memphis Grizzlies selected Cameron Boozer with the No. 3 pick on Tuesday in the NBA Draft. Boozer was the most productive player in his age group and arguably the most productive freshman in college basketball history. At Duke, Boozer shot 55.6 percent from the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2007498","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007498","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2007498"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2007498\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2007498"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2007498"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2007498"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}