Cam Boozer Gets Surprising NBA Draft Outlook Amid Combine Results

With the NBA Draft Combine occurring in Chicago, Illinois, prospects are participating in drills to impress teams ahead of June’s official NBA Draft event in Brooklyn, New York.

Among them is Duke Blue Devils star Cam Boozer, who has already impressed everyone with his college body of work, leading his team to the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

With that, he’s established himself amongst the top three selections in June’s draft, with most analysts and scouts projecting he’ll become the third overall pick.

That would put him on a Memphis Grizzlies squad that is attempting to reboot after trading away former All-Star Jaren Jackson Jr. and potentially parting ways with Ja Morant.

However, another eye-opening outlook arrived as Boozer began his work at the NBA Draft Combine, with Draft Express’ Jonathan Givony suggesting that people shouldn’t sleep on the possibility of Boozer going as the No. 1 pick to the Washington Wizards.

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“There are a lot of people around the NBA, especially those that build the team draft models, that have Cam Boozer at number one,” he said in a Draft Express video.

“He has been the most productive player by far, every step of the way. He’s been the winningest player every step of the way. What he does is going to translate to the NBA. I think he’s going to be an All-Star,” Givony said.

He indicated he believes the Wizards could give Boozer “a really hard look” when evaluating draft prospects, and that the Jazz, who already have a lot of big men, still might look at the best talent they could get in the NBA Draft with the No. 2 pick.

As it stands, most mock drafts project BYU’s AJ Dybantsa as the top pick, followed by Kansas Jayhawks star Darryn Peterson, with Boozer landing at third. After that, things start getting less clear, as there is a lot of other talent available, including Arkansas’ Darius Acuff Jr. and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson.

Boozer averaged a double-double at Duke with 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds, along with 4.1 assists per game. He also shot 55.6 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from three-point range.

Last season, Duke standout Cooper Flagg was the No. 1 pick and went on to impress in his rookie debut with the Dallas Mavericks, winning the NBA Rookie of the Year Award.

In a recent mock draft, Bleacher Report’s Jonathan Wasserman indicated Boozer would be the third pick and that he was unlikely to move up after the NBA Draft Combine.

“At this stage, there isn’t anything left for Boozer to show during workouts to change the minds of scouts who visualize more upside with Dybantsa, Peterson, or Wilson,” Wasserman wrote.

Early results from the scouting combine included the vertical jump, where the 6-foot-8, 252-pound Boozer recorded a jump of 35 inches compared to 37.5 inches for Peterson and 42 inches for Dybantsa.

If Boozer went first overall, it would shock a lot of people, given how Dybantsa has been touted as the best overall player to take at the top spot. However, a lot can change with the NBA Draft Combine results, team scouts’ perspectives, and the directions that NBA teams decide to go with their roster.

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This story was originally published May 12, 2026 at 7:25 PM.