Cameron Boozer’s Summer League run in Las Vegas ended without the MVP trophy, but the message he sent was loud enough anyway.
The Duke standout looked comfortable from the opening tip and played like someone who already knows how the next level works. That’s part of why he’s the odds-on favorite for NBA Rookie of the Year, and why his summer showing only strengthened the case.
Boozer was in position to claim Summer League MVP, too, before the Grizzlies fell just short against the Warriors in the championship game. That result pushed the award elsewhere, but it didn’t change how he felt about the bigger prize. He was more bothered by Memphis losing the title than by missing out on the individual honor.
Still, Boozer earned a spot on the All Summer League first team, while Yaxel Lendeborg took home MVP.
His numbers backed up the recognition. Boozer averaged 18.5 points, 8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game, production that would have put him in line for the award if Memphis had finished the job against Golden State.
Even so, the summer was about more than a stat line. Boozer’s play helped carry Memphis to the title game, and it gave a clear look at what the Grizzlies believe they’re getting with the No. 3 overall pick. He’s expected to bring a winning edge with him when the regular season begins.
Memphis also made sure last year’s lottery pick, Cedric Coward, got Summer League reps alongside Boozer in Las Vegas. That move gave the two a chance to build chemistry before the season starts, something that could pay off quickly.
Boozer wasn’t the only former Duke player to land on one of the All Summer League teams. Suns second-year big man Khaman Maluach, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, put together a strong summer in Phoenix and earned a spot on the second team. He averaged 19.5 points and a Las Vegas-best 12.8 rebounds per game, and he had a real case to make the first team.
For Boozer, though, the bigger takeaway is simple: the rookie looks ready to make an immediate impact. Maluach, meanwhile, appears poised for a major jump in his second season.
In Other News...
UCLA Fans Need To See How Much The 2027 Board Just Changed
The summer recruiting circuit has already shaken up the 2027 national board, and the latest live evaluations only made the picture clearer. Beckham Black sits at No. 1 for now, with CJ Rosser right behind him, but the biggest mover in the group is Cayden Daughtry, whose rise has turned plenty of heads after a strong EYBL season.
Daughtrys jump is the kind that changes the conversation around an entire class, especially when a prospect keeps stacking performances against elite competition. Rosser remains firmly in the mix as a high-end talent with room to climb, but the updated rankings suggest the race at the top is still very much in flux as more evaluations come in. [Read more 🡒]
Jon Scheyer May Be Rethinking Duke's 2027 Guard Plan
Jon Scheyer went into the 2027 cycle with a clear guard board, leaning on a handful of high-end targets while Duke kept building around bigger lead guards such as Beckham Black and Adan Diggs. The Blue Devils have also had their eyes on other elite names in that class, including Kager Knueppel and Lewis Uvwo, but the Peach Jam offered a reminder that recruiting plans can change quickly when a prospect forces his way into the conversation.
Cayden Daughtry did exactly that in front of a packed summer audience, and Scheyer was there to see it firsthand. The five-star guard has drawn plenty of attention with his scoring burst, and now the question for Duke is whether the staff can look past the concerns that come with his frame and decide he is worth pushing harder for as the 2027 board starts to take shape. [Read more 🡒]
This 2027 Guard May Be Too Hot For Duke To Ignore
Cayden Daughtry has been one of the louder names in the 2027 guard class after a strong run on the grassroots circuit, with his play at Nike EYBL and Nike Peach Jam putting him firmly on the radar of programs that track elite backcourt talent early. The 5-star point guard has shown the kind of scoring punch and playmaking that tends to travel, and his rise comes at a time when Duke already has a deep group of guards in the pipeline.
For the Blue Devils, that makes the question more about fit and timing than talent. Duke has not publicly shown interest in Daughtry, and there has been no report of Jon Scheyer and his staff making that move yet, but a prospect drawing this much attention rarely stays hidden for long. If the momentum keeps building, the conversation around whether Duke should get involved may start to feel less hypothetical. [Read more 🡒]