ESPN: Some Scouts Don't See Cameron Boozer as 'True Franchise Cornerstone' on NBA Team

Cameron Boozer has yet to play his first collegiate game at Duke, but some NBA talent evaluators are reportedly already questioning if he is capable of being a go-to player at the NBA level.

In their early 2026 NBA mock draft, ESPN's Jonathan Givony and Jeremy Woo projected Boozer to go No. 3 overall to the Utah Jazz behind Kansas commit Darryn Peterson and BYU commit A.J. Dybantsa.

Givony and Woo noted that while Boozer is the player from the 2025 recruiting class who "most college coaches would pick if they want to win a game tonight," some scouts believe he "projects as the second-best player on an NBA team instead of a true franchise cornerstone."

Boozer and his twin brother, Cayden, have both committed to Duke for next season, and they are the sons of former Duke standout Carlos Boozer, who went on to become a two-time NBA All-Star and one-time Olympic gold medalist.

Cameron is rated as a 5-star recruit by 247Sports, as well as the No. 2 overall player and No. 1 power forward in his class.

A 6'9" and 235 pounds, Boozer is a long and versatile player who excels at both ends of the floor, and his skill set figures to translate well to the college ranks.

However, Givony and Woo expressed their opinion that Boozer does not possess "outlier positional size, length, or explosiveness," which could be why scouts don't currently view him as a potential NBA superstar.

Of course, there is plenty of time between now and the 2026 NBA draft, and Boozer will have the chance to either change or reinforce the thoughts about him based on how he performs during his freshman campaign at Duke.

Duke has proved to be a great environment for the freshman trio of Cooper Flagg, Kon Knueppel and Khaman Maluach this season, as all three have a strong chance to be lottery picks in the 2025 NBA draft.

With those players likely leaving for the NBA after one season, Boozer will have the opportunity to be the star of the show at Duke next season, and if he thrives in that role, perhaps NBA scouts will start to view him differently.