Cameron Boozer

[King Ken]

What are we thinking? What's a very optimistic ceiling outcome?

D. Sabonis but with K. Love shooting & Sengun-level defense? You get Domantas' efficient below-the-rim bully-ball interior finishing, rebounding, and DHO/elbow passing game. You get Kevin's spot-up & movement catch-and-shoot three-point game. You get better defense than either of them offers; something more akin to Sengun - a clear step up.

That's a PF/C that can put up - in the optimal role/scheme/supporting cast - 22-25 ppg, 10-13 rpg, 5-8 apg on 60-65% TS, do it in a team-friendly way/in the flow, and be good enough on defense to be #1 in minutes played on a top-ranked defense.

Sounds like Jokic-lite, almost, but with less positional rigidity/more lineup & roster flexibility because you can play him at PF.

I like his defense is better than Sengun at the same stage. He's the closest I've seen to Jokic but he's a lot like his pops but he's further along than Jokic was at the same age even if the upside isn't as high as it was for Jokic just due to some of the physical limitations.

Jokic was off the charts data wise before it appeared visually to even the hard-core NBA supporter.

Sengun was an exceptional defender prior to being in the NBA.

From my scout, I had him as a defender without a position or a true strength at that time. Even as a rookie, it was rough. I was impressed by his yearly improvement. Especially as a non 5.

[ReggiesKnicks]

I like his defense is better than Sengun at the same stage. He's the closest I've seen to Jokic but he's a lot like his pops but he's further along than Jokic was at the same age even if the upside isn't as high as it was for Jokic just due to some of the physical limitations.

Jokic was off the charts data wise before it appeared visually to even the hard-core NBA supporter.

Sengun was an exceptional defender prior to being in the NBA.

From my scout, I had him as a defender without a position or a true strength at that time. Even as a rookie, it was rough. I was impressed by his yearly improvement. Especially as a non 5.

He was statistically dominant defensively in Euro league.

[Duke4life831]

I saw one guy say that but i wont name drop lol.

That was me haha.

Sarr started off really hot with his shot. It’s been real ugly since, so ya I can admit that was a bad hot take haha.

With the said, I still haven’t changed my views on Cam. I still have a hard time pointing to a player right now that has a similar physical profile as Cam does and is a legit franchise player. With that said, I also said from the start that I think Cam has a legit shot at being NPOY. So him being dominant really isn’t something I wasn’t expecting.

Just don’t know how high his ceiling is in the NBA and how likely it is for him to get there

I mean what makes his ceiling any lower than what Al Horford was?

Is Domantas Sabonis really much bigger? Cam seems like he has a higher ceiling than Sabonis and appears to be a similar size.

Two of Horford's strengths coming into the NBA was his athleticism and defense. Horford at Florida was a very good athlete. He moved up and down the court ridiculously well for his size and his defense was high level. Probably the 2 question marks that Boozer has had from day 1.

I think Sabonis has maybe 2 inches on Boozer, I think Boozer ends up 6'8.5" without shoes. Sabonis was always from day 1 ridiculously efficient on offense. Boozer was elite last night, but 2 of his actual 3 games so far this season he has shot 25% from the floor and 41%. Id like to see Boozer against better competition more before I put him in the same level of Sabonis when it comes to that level of efficient scoring. But lets say he is the next Sabonis.

Im still not taking him top 5 in this draft. Sabonis is about to turn 30 and he's never won a playoff series. For the majority of his career the talk has been is he a 4 or a 5, and now the talk is can you ever win with a player like Sabonis being a key piece.

Then again the question Ive been asking when it comes to a comp like Sabonis or Sengun is, what happens if Cam is just slightly less efficient than those guys. What happens if Cam doesnt turn into a 6-7 assists per game level passer, but just a really good big man passer and say 4-5 assists per game. What happens if he is Sengun's level of efficiency as a scorer (aka league average). But then throw in you not being able to play him at the 5 in a drop coverage on defense? Is that even a starting archetype in today's NBA? Or is that more of a Bobby Portis kind of, offensive 4 spark off the bench kind of role?

Again I cant say this enough, I love Boozer as a prep player. Ive said on here multiple times I think he was one of the best high school players in the last 20+ years and I think he is the favorite to win NPOY in college. I just think his window to being a high level impact player in the league is very small. He basically has to be elite of the elite in this specific niche, and even then we're not even sure that is a high impact player in today's game. And I feel like if he doesnt hit his ceiling, the most likely outcome is an offensive spark off the bench. Because Im having a very hard time finding 6'8'-6'9 below the basket, slow footed forwards who are high impact or high level starters in the league.

Now with that said, if there is someone to break that mold, it would be Boozer. Im just not sure Id be willing to spend a top 5 pick on him hoping he is the one to break the mold.

[ReggiesKnicks]

That was me haha.

Sarr started off really hot with his shot. It’s been real ugly since, so ya I can admit that was a bad hot take haha.

With the said, I still haven’t changed my views on Cam. I still have a hard time pointing to a player right now that has a similar physical profile as Cam does and is a legit franchise player. With that said, I also said from the start that I think Cam has a legit shot at being NPOY. So him being dominant really isn’t something I wasn’t expecting.

Just don’t know how high his ceiling is in the NBA and how likely it is for him to get there

I mean what makes his ceiling any lower than what Al Horford was?

Is Domantas Sabonis really much bigger? Cam seems like he has a higher ceiling than Sabonis and appears to be a similar size.

Two of Horford's strengths coming into the NBA was his athleticism and defense. Horford at Florida was a very good athlete. He moved up and down the court ridiculously well for his size and his defense was high level. Probably the 2 question marks that Boozer has had from day 1.

Yes and No. Horford's strength in the NBA was his high-accumen IQ, passing ability, and touch both around the rim but also as a shooter.

I think Sabonis has maybe 2 inches on Boozer, I think Boozer ends up 6'8.5" without shoes. Sabonis was always from day 1 ridiculously efficient on offense. Boozer was elite last night, but 2 of his actual 3 games so far this season he has shot 25% from the floor and 41%. Id like to see Boozer against better competition more before I put him in the same level of Sabonis when it comes to that level of efficient scoring. But lets say he is the next Sabonis.

This isn't right. Sabonis was measured at 6' 10" with shoes. Sabonis was also far behind the development curve of Boozer as a freshman.

[tontoz]

Just got done watching the game. One thing that I didn't like about Boozer was that he always seemed to try to play bully ball on his drives. If that didn't work he didn't have a plan B.

This game he showed something I've wanted to see. He got inside and kept his pivot foot down, using footwork and fakes to get his shot off. That is how a below the rim plodder has to play.

I don't care about the big statline. Some of that was just bad defense by Arkansas.

[Duke4life831]

I mean what makes his ceiling any lower than what Al Horford was?

Is Domantas Sabonis really much bigger? Cam seems like he has a higher ceiling than Sabonis and appears to be a similar size.

Two of Horford's strengths coming into the NBA was his athleticism and defense. Horford at Florida was a very good athlete. He moved up and down the court ridiculously well for his size and his defense was high level. Probably the 2 question marks that Boozer has had from day 1.

Yes and No. Horford's strength in the NBA was his high-accumen IQ, passing ability, and touch both around the rim but also as a shooter.

I think Sabonis has maybe 2 inches on Boozer, I think Boozer ends up 6'8.5" without shoes. Sabonis was always from day 1 ridiculously efficient on offense. Boozer was elite last night, but 2 of his actual 3 games so far this season he has shot 25% from the floor and 41%. Id like to see Boozer against better competition more before I put him in the same level of Sabonis when it comes to that level of efficient scoring. But lets say he is the next Sabonis.

This isn't right. Sabonis was measured at 6' 10" with shoes. Sabonis was also far behind the development curve of Boozer as a freshman.

Im talking about Horford coming out of college. His athleticism and defense were 100% considered 2 of his biggest strengths, this isnt even debatable. Go look up old Horford pre draft scouting reports. Youre going to see his athleticism (especially his agility and movement) and his defense as some of his biggest strengths. Yes he was/is a very IQ player and skilled, which is why his career has gone as long as it has. But coming out of college, Horford was on very different tiers when it came to his athleticism and defense compared to Boozer.

Fine, Sabonis is 1 inch taller. I truly dont care if its an inch or 2 inches difference. If you think Cam can be a full time 5 in the NBA, great we can agree to disagree on that. Because I dont, I think he is position locked at the 4. Duke has Cam listed at 6'9, and just like every other college Duke tends to list their guys slightly higher than their real numbers. Flagg was listed at 6'9 last year at Duke, he ended up measuring sub 6'8 barefoot. I dont think Cam is any taller than Flagg. And I dont think Cam has anywhere near the foot speed to try and defend out in space in the NBA against NBA perimeter players.

Which again brings me to my 2 main question marks with Cam. Where do you play him defensively? And what happens if he doesnt turn into being a truly elite offensive hub as a big man, but just turns out to be a really good and versatile big man offensively, but not elite. Is that combination a starter in today's NBA?

[tontoz]

Yeah young Horford ran the court like a deer. He had no problem on defense getting switched onto a guard.

[Caneman786]

When it comes to Cameron Boozer's height, I think he will measure between 6' 8" and 6' 9" barefoot. I'm thinking 6' 8.5".

Carlos Boozer measured at 6' 7.75" barefoot at the combine, and Cameron seems taller than his dad in the photos I've seen.

[FrodoBaggins]

I am going to be honest, I am scared to pass on Boozer. Moreso than Peterson or Dybantsa. World class impact guys almost always translate. That said the other two are impact players and they have more upside.

Agreed.

I don't envy the guys who'll be making the lottery picks. In a league where (according to EPM) 7 of the top 12 players (Shai, Jokic, Luka, Curry, Reaves, Harden, Brunson) play "below-the-rim," I'm extremely hesitant to cap Cam's ceiling. We could be looking at the PF/C Jokic-lite; this could be 2018 all over again, where the outlier-productive player with physical limitations gets overlooked in favor of more conventional top prospects.

[FrodoBaggins]

What are we thinking? What's a very optimistic ceiling outcome?

I don't know about very optimistic, but realistic outcome is better rebounding, more energetic and better shooting (especially FT% and midrange) Blake Griffin 2019. And Blake that year was at 25, 8, 5, +2 rTS with 5.0 BPM and All-NBA nodes. I don't think that there's a better comparison in terms of potential playing style and size. You may wonder about his superstar ceiling (will he become a facilitator and scorer on the level of ~top5 players? Can he become a really impactful defender), but his floor is ridiculously high: he already shoots 39% from 3s and 76% from FT (was even higher in HS) as an 18yo, his shooting projection is really nice and it will expand his game much further. His feel for the game is great and he's already a very skilled guy.

Watch on YouTube

Yeah, it may not be fluid and eye-catching, but his scoring bag is so great for a freshman: he can shoot from perimeter, attack off the dribble, play a bully ball, run the offense in transition, and he's a decent roller.

Detroit Blake is a good comp.

I do wonder whether he'll be more "perimeter" (DET Blake, current Randle) or "paint" (Sabonis, Sengun) in the NBA. He looks like he does both quite well. He can operate with a live dribble as a PnR ball handler & in isolation, and also be the primary screener/DHO guy, picking apart defenses rolling/driving, shooting, and passing.

Also, I forgot to mention:

The underrated part of Boozer's game is that he's at 6.8 TOV% and 3.9 APG per game, his feel for the game and efficiency with touches that he has is already elite. If you have doubts (IMHO - rightfully so) if he can become a superstar-offensive facilitator on the NBA level, he'll be such a great 2nd option with his passing and (potentially) shooting.

One of the reasons why he's so far at 39.6 PER and 21.8 BPM at the start of the season: 39% from 3s, 67TS%, 3-1 assists-turnovers ratio. Yeah, boxscore production on NCAA level isn't everything, but these are highly portable skills.

Very exciting shooting and playmaking package for a player of his archetype. I'm scared to say Jokic-lite. Maybe Sengun/Sabonis passing with better shooting is a safer bet.

[FrodoBaggins]

2018-19 Blake:



2025-26 Randle:



2022-23 Sabonis:



2023-24 Sengun:

[FarBeyondDriven]

one and only concern is the NBA is dominated by guys that have the ball in their hands running offenses and he doesn't have or ever will have (imo) that type of ability. He's too slow and his handle isn't good enough. Obviously he will improve but I don't think he'll ever have that on-ball helio-centric role and without that it's very difficult to be a superstar which is why I have him more as an elite role-player. I still think the offense can go through him at times like it does for Sengun, Sabonis and Jokic but because he's much smaller than them and won't have a mismatch like they do, I don't think quite as much.

[FrodoBaggins]

Is he smaller than Sengun and Sabonis, though?

We'll have to wait for the NBA Draft Combine for the official measurements, but he's likely at least 6'9" in shoes, 7'0"+ wingspan, and a standing reach somewhere around 9 feet. Already 250 pounds at 18.5 years old, with no fat/extra weight. His dad was 6'9" in shoes, 258 lbs (at the combine, age 20.5 or so) with a 7'2.25" wingspan, and 9'0.5" standing reach.

Sabonis is like 6'10" in shoes with a 6'10.5" wingspan. Has short arms and low-set shoulders/a big head/long neck.

Sengun may be a little closer to 6'11" in shoes, but only has a 7'0.5" wingspan. Long neck, too.

[King Ken]

one and only concern is the NBA is dominated by guys that have the ball in their hands running offenses and he doesn't have or ever will have (imo) that type of ability. He's too slow and his handle isn't good enough. Obviously he will improve but I don't think he'll ever have that on-ball helio-centric role and without that it's very difficult to be a superstar which is why I have him more as an elite role-player. I still think the offense can go through him at times like it does for Sengun, Sabonis and Jokic but because he's much smaller than them and won't have a mismatch like they do, I don't think quite as much.

His handles are fine for his position and will only improve.

You don't run an helio-centric offense around him like he's Harden or Queen. You run your offense through him with movement, screens, like Sacramento Webber.

[CptCrunch]

Booz is the clear #1/2 this class. I don't consider AJ Dybantsa to be a tier 1 prospect; he seems like a middling basketball IQ player like Harrison Barnes or RJ Barrett.

I'll take Peterson over Booz right now, and that's it.

[Caneman786]

Cameron Boozer is an amazing scorer. Some numbers to watch on and contextualize.

Cameron Boozer, over the first 8 games of the season, has gone 8-0. He has scored 183 points on 66.8% TS%. 22.9 points per game while playing 29.0 minutes per game.

In college, scoring 20 points a game puts you in elite company. Even more so when you are a freshman.

In all of Division 1 College Basketball in the United States, there have only been 14 players who have averaged 20 points per game as freshmen over the last 10 years.

Shooting 60% true shooting also puts you in elite company in college. In college, the average true shooting levels have hovered from 54% to 55% over the last ten years, so it means that you are roughly shooting at 10% above league average.

For reference, what this (shooting 10% above league average) looks like in the NBA as of last season, 2025, is a true shooting percentage of around 64%. The players closest to this level in 2025 were Ivica Zubac, Jakob Poeltl, Zach LaVine, Obi Toppin, Kevin Durant, Ty Jerome, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Of our 14 college players who, as freshmen, averaged 20 point per game, only three of them were able to score with a true shooting percentage of 60% or higher:

Duke's Zion Williamson in 2020, who scored 22.6 PPG on 70.2% True Shooting.
Duke's Marvin Bagley III in 2018, who scored 21.0 PPG on 64.3% True Shooting.
Arizona's Deandre Ayton in 2018, who scored 20.1 PPG on 65.0% True Shooting.

Recent top 5 picks who were college freshmen for context:

Duke's Cooper Flagg in 2025, who scored 19.2 PPG on 59.3% True Shooting.
Rutgers' Dylan Harper in 2025, who scored 19.4 PPG on 58.6% True Shooting.
Baylor's VJ Edgecombe in 2025, who scored 15.0 PPG on 55.2% True Shooting.
Duke's Kon Knueppel in 2025, who scored 14.4 PPG on 64.2% True Shooting.
Rutgers' Ace Bailey in 2025, who scored 17.6 PPG on 53.6% True Shooting.
Kentucky's Reed Sheppard in 2024, who scored 12.5 PPG on 69.9% True Shooting.
Connecticut's Stephon Castle in 2024, who scored 11.1 PPG on 55.1% True Shooting.
Alabama's Brandon Miller in 2023, who scored 18.8 PPG on 58.3% True Shooting.
Duke's Paolo Banchero in 2022, who scored 17.2 PPG on 55.7% True Shooting.
Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren in 2022, who scored 14.1 PPG on 68.1% True Shooting.
Auburn's Jabari Smith Jr. in 2022, who scored 16.9 PPG on 57.0% True Shooting.

[Caneman786]

Here's some ranks to watch for Cameron Boozer.

Scoring, Points per game:

In NCAA D1, he is ranked #6 for scoring in points per game with 22.9 PPG.
In NCAA D1 among freshmen, he is ranked #2 for scoring after Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie who has 23.0
In the ACC, he is ranked #2 for scoring, once again after Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie.

Rebounding:

In NCAA D1, he is ranked #26 for rebounding in rebounds per game with 9.8 RPG.
In NCAA D1 among freshmen, he is ranked #4 among freshmen for rebounding after:

New Mexico's Tomislav Buljan with 11.1, Illinois's David Mirkovic with 10.0, North Carolina's Caleb Wilson with 9.9.

In the ACC, he is ranked #4 for rebounding.
In the ACC among freshmen, he is ranked #2 for rebounding after Caleb Wilson.

[Duke4life831]

Cameron Boozer is an amazing scorer. Some numbers to watch on and contextualize.

Cameron Boozer, over the first 8 games of the season, has gone 8-0. He has scored 183 points on 66.8% TS%. 22.9 points per game while playing 29.0 minutes per game.

In college, scoring 20 points a game puts you in elite company. Even more so when you are a freshman.

In all of Division 1 College Basketball in the United States, there have only been 14 players who have averaged 20 points per game as freshmen over the last 10 years.

Shooting 60% true shooting also puts you in elite company in college. In college, the average true shooting levels have hovered from 54% to 55% over the last ten years, so it means that you are roughly shooting at 10% above league average.

For reference, what this (shooting 10% above league average) looks like in the NBA as of last season, 2025, is a true shooting percentage of around 64%. The players closest to this level in 2025 were Ivica Zubac, Jakob Poeltl, Zach LaVine, Obi Toppin, Kevin Durant, Ty Jerome, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

Of our 14 college players who, as freshmen, averaged 20 point per game, only three of them were able to score with a true shooting percentage of 60% or higher:

Duke's Zion Williamson in 2020, who scored 22.6 PPG on 70.2% True Shooting.
Duke's Marvin Bagley III in 2018, who scored 21.0 PPG on 64.3% True Shooting.
Arizona's Deandre Ayton in 2018, who scored 20.1 PPG on 65.0% True Shooting.

Recent top 5 picks who were college freshmen for context:

Duke's Cooper Flagg in 2025, who scored 19.2 PPG on 59.3% True Shooting.
Rutgers' Dylan Harper in 2025, who scored 19.4 PPG on 58.6% True Shooting.
Baylor's VJ Edgecombe in 2025, who scored 15.0 PPG on 55.2% True Shooting.
Duke's Kon Knueppel in 2025, who scored 14.4 PPG on 64.2% True Shooting.
Rutgers' Ace Bailey in 2025, who scored 17.6 PPG on 53.6% True Shooting.
Kentucky's Reed Sheppard in 2024, who scored 12.5 PPG on 69.9% True Shooting.
Connecticut's Stephon Castle in 2024, who scored 11.1 PPG on 55.1% True Shooting.
Alabama's Brandon Miller in 2023, who scored 18.8 PPG on 58.3% True Shooting.
Duke's Paolo Banchero in 2022, who scored 17.2 PPG on 55.7% True Shooting.
Gonzaga's Chet Holmgren in 2022, who scored 14.1 PPG on 68.1% True Shooting.
Auburn's Jabari Smith Jr. in 2022, who scored 16.9 PPG on 57.0% True Shooting.

I feel like youre trying to contextualize this, you kind of left out a lot of context.

Youre comparing numbers for guy's full seasons, many of those had long tournament runs. Take Flagg for example, on top of a normal schedule. Duke made it to the Final Four and had to face Baylor, Arizona, Alabama, and Houston.

Yes Boozer has played 8 games, but in better terms, its been 3 games. This is and has always been the issue with college basketball, the first month of it is useless. When 5 of the 8 games are against teams like Niagara or Howard, hard to use the full "season" stat lines.

Now with that said, he's been damn good in his 3 real games. Averaging 22ppg on 57 TS%. But again even with that, those numbers can be heavily skewed because of such a small sample size. Before the Thursday games, those averages wouldve been 16.5 on 45 TS%.

Now dont get me wrong, by the end of the year I do think Boozer will have an excellent season (Ive said on here many times I think he has a great chance to win NPOY).

Im just saying, its pretty much pointless to try and extrapolate Novembers stats, to a full season. The first month is just too filled with games that should be qualified as exhibitions.

Also to be clear, not saying this in a combative way at all. Reading it back, I can see if it did come off that way haha. This is more just how much of a joke the first month of college ball is and it either needs to get changed big time, or just start the season in December without all this wasted non conference warm up games and use November as a month long pre season