After one season at Duke, Cameron Boozer has declared for the 2026 NBA Draft. He made the announcement on his Instagram account on Friday.
“Thank you for everything @dukeuniversity,” Boozer wrote on the post. “Duke Blue forever 💙💙”
Boozer averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals in 38 games for the Blue Devils this past season. He also shot 39% on 138 3-point attempts. That performance earned him the men’s Naismith Player of the Year award, in addition to consensus first-team All-American honors.
The 6-foot-9 forward is in contention to be the No. 1 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Yahoo Sports’ Kevin O’Connor projected him to be selected third in his mock draft (going to the Sacramento Kings) before the NBA Draft Lottery determines the order of the first 15 picks.
“He’s a do-it-all offensive talent who can post up, run pick-and-rolls, set screens, spot up and crash the boards,” O’Connor wrote in his scouting report. “He doesn’t need to rely on bully ball to make an impact as a scorer or passer.”
“He plays hard and has improved at every weakness in his game so far,” O’Connor added.
If Boozer were to be the No. 1 overall selection, he would join the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, quarterback Fernando Mendoza, as alumni from Christopher Columbus High School in Miami, Florida as top prospects in their respective sports.
As a freshman, Boozer helped lead Duke to a 35-3 record (17-1 in conference), winning the ACC regular-season and tournament titles. The Blue Devils earned a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament and advanced to the regional final before suffering a heartbreaking, buzzer-beater loss to UConn.
He twice scored 35 points among four games during which he scored 30 or more, and also tallied 20 or more points in 16 other games. During the NCAA tournament, Boozer averaged 22.5 points and 10.5 rebounds including a 27-point performance in the defeat to UConn.
Twin brother Cayden, who will return to Duke for his sophomore season, responded to Cameron’s Instagram post by saying, “I guess we got a lot to talk about tonight😔.”
Cameron and Cayden are the sons of Carlos Boozer, a 13-year NBA veteran who averaged 16.2 points and 9.5 rebounds playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers during his career. He also played at Duke and was a 2002 second-round pick (No. 35 overall).
Boozer was ranked as a five-star recruit coming out of high school, ranked by Rivals as the No. 3 player nationally — behind BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, who could both go ahead of him in the NBA Draft — and the No. 1 power forward. He chose Duke over Miami, Florida State, Kentucky and Florida.
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