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Cayden Boozer of the Duke Blue Devils reacts after scoring a basket Clemson Tigers.
Top prospect Cameron Boozer is still playing for Duke in March Madness, but his father Carlos Boozer has huge expectations for his NBA future. Cameron is expected to be a top three pick in the upcoming NBA Draft, while many teams tank in hopes of getting one of the three major prospects ready to enter the league.
The name Tim Duncan was cited by Carlos during an interview with Marc Spears about his son’s potential:
“You look at what Tim Duncan did. I’m not comparing Cameron to Tim Duncan, but he was another guy that wasn’t a Kevin Garnett or a Tracy McGrady or a Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O’Neal. But you know what he did? He won five championships in that era [against] those players — the Kobes and the Shaqs, because of his IQ, because of his skill set, and because his team would follow him.
That is who Cameron is. He’s a modern-day version of that. People are going to follow him because of what he gives to the team and what he gives to the game. That translates into winning. So, if you want to win, you pick Cameron. And I’m going to tell you this: The GMs that don’t pick Cam, they’re going to regret that 15 years from now.”
Carlos claimed he wasn’t comparing Cameron to Duncan, but the rest of the quote featured him explaining why they are comparable.
Can Cameron Boozer Be An NBA Superstar?
The biggest question to get answered first will have us seeing if Cameron Boozer is an NBA star before anyone even thinks about comparing him to all-time greats. Boozer had an incredible season with Duke that showed both massive counting stats and effective shooting percentages.
NBA teams view Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, and Darryn Peterson as three franchise changing prospects. Many teams have been tanking for months now with the hopes of improving their draft lottery odds to draft one of these three.
Boozer will have to be a multi-time All-Star caliber player to live up to the expectations, and he certainly passes the eye test to provide confidence for his NBA future. Duke entered the March Madness NCAA Championship tournament as the favorite due to Boozer leading the way before he leaves for the NBA.
Why Carlos Compared Cameron To Duncan
Carlos Boozer played against the best players of the 2000s when he entered the league and certainly developed a strong respect for Duncan. The San Antonio Spurs were contenders almost every single season of Duncan’s illustrious career.
Cameron shows strong basketball intelligence on the court and is still able to put up dominant numbers. Duncan was the NBA player best at merging his intelligence and skill set to influence winning basketball. Carlos named the other players who dominated more than Duncan when explaining how he views the Spurs legend.
The future will require Cameron to have a legendary career to live up to this hype, but it’s not completely unwarranted. A historic level of tanking is coming from NBA teams due to their belief in the top three prospects having Hall of Fame potential.
Joey Haverford Joey Haverford is a seasoned sports content writer with over 12 years of experience. He has covered the NBA, WNBA, MLB, NFL, and professional wrestling in the sports industry. More about Joey Haverford
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