Cameron Boozer won’t always stuff the stat sheet in eye-catching ways, so if you’re just scanning the box score, you could easily miss just how much command the former Duke star already plays with especially considering he’s only 18 and competing in the NBA’s Summer League.
Yet even on a Memphis squad that doesn’t feature him as much as it probably should, his extraordinary basketball instinct is already unmistakable.
Friday night had the basketball world locked in on his Las Vegas Summer League debut, with the spotlight shared by former UNC standout Caleb Wilson. Wilson might have claimed the headline with a flashy 35-point outing and seven triples matching his entire total from his one season in Chapel Hill but it was Boozer’s Grizzlies who walked away with the win. Naturally.
That’s simply what Boozer does: he wins.
His own line wasn’t as glaring, but when you check the numbers, you find 23 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists on a crisp 7-for-12 shooting, all while logging six fewer minutes than his Tar Heel rival.
He also delivered Wilson’s true “Welcome to the NBA” moment, stripping him in the backcourt and turning it into an easy dunk.
Cedric Coward, now Boozer’s teammate a year later than Duke fans might have hoped, offered the perfect snapshot of what Boozer brings.
“I can’t believe he’s 18. I’m glad he’s on my team,” Coward said afterward.
That remark captures exactly why Grizzlies fans should be buzzing about Boozer: he’s still just 18 years old—half a year younger than AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson, and a full year younger than Wilson. And whenever he squares off against any of them, more often than not, Boozer ends up on top.
That made Friday’s result especially satisfying, given that Wilson had gotten the better of him in their only college meeting. Boozer actually had the better individual stats that night, but Wilson’s Tar Heels stunned Duke in Chapel Hill.
In Vegas, the script flipped: Wilson piled up the counting numbers, but Boozer did exactly what was required to push Memphis to victory.
Clearly, both are destined for NBA stardom, and Dybantsa and Peterson have impressed in their own right. Summer League always comes with its usual caveats, but it’s already apparent that this draft class is delivering on the massive expectations surrounding it.
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