The Memphis Grizzlies took Cameron Boozer with the third overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. Two weeks into Summer League, they look like the smartest team in the room.
Boozer led the Grizzlies to the Summer League semifinals with the kind of complete performance that had NBA scouts nodding along. His debut was 15 points, four rebounds, and four assists on 7-of-11 shooting. He followed it up with a 23-point, six-rebound, four-assist night in a one-point win over the Bulls. His stat lines have been quietly elite. His impact on winning has been obvious.
This was supposed to be the AJ Dybantsa show. Dybantsa went No. 1 to the Wizards and has looked the part. Darryn Peterson went No. 2 to the Jazz and dropped 28 points on 11-of-21 shooting in his debut. Both are going to be excellent NBA players. But Boozer is the one who has flipped the internal draft rankings in front offices around the league.
What makes Boozer special is that his game translates. He is not a specialist. He is a legitimate two-way forward with feel, shooting, and the ability to play in multiple lineups. His father Carlos was a two-time All-Star, but Cameron is already a different kind of player. His passing vision is more advanced. His shooting range extends past the college three. And he defends multiple positions in a way his dad never had to.
The Grizzlies have to be thrilled. Their rebuild has been a slog since the Ja Morant trade to Portland. They needed a foundational forward next to Jaren Jackson Jr. and their young backcourt. Boozer looks like that guy immediately, which is not something you often say about a Summer League rookie.
The biggest concern about Boozer coming out of Duke was athleticism. Scouts worried that his lack of explosion would show up against NBA-level defenders. That has not been the story so far. He has been able to score inside against players who tested better at the combine. His footwork and touch have compensated for the vertical.
The bigger question is how the shooting holds up. He shot the ball well at Duke but the volume was low. In Summer League he has taken more threes and hit at a decent rate. If he becomes a real above-average shooter, his ceiling rises another tier.
The Grizzlies’ regular season is going to be complicated. Jackson is still their franchise player. The backcourt of Ja Morant is gone but the pieces around Boozer are young and unproven. This is not a playoff team yet. But if Boozer looks the way he has looked in Summer League, the timeline just accelerated.
The best-case scenario for Memphis is that Boozer is not the third-best rookie in this class. He is the best. And the Grizzlies got him at No. 3 instead of paying the price of a No. 1 pick.
That is how you rebuild.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
