Despite the widely held assumption that BYU forward AJ Dybantsa and Kansas guard Darryn Peterson will be the top two picks in the 2026 NBA draft, a leading NBA draft analyst believes Duke forward Cameron Boozer could be in the mix.
During an appearance this week on The Herd (beginning at the 2:05 mark of the video), DraftExpress founder Jonathan Givony said, “I think teams drafting at 1 and 2 are giving [Boozer] a very hard look in this draft even if that may not be the public sentiment.”
Givony also noted at the start of the video that Boozer is an analytics darling, saying, “If you talk to the analytics people in NBA front offices who have a lot of influence these days, 100 percent of them have Cam Boozer at No. 1 at the top of their draft model.”
Boozer, the 18-year-old son of two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer, was hugely productive in his one collegiate season at Duke.
By virtue of averaging 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 1.4 three-pointers made and 1.4 steals per game, while shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 39.1 percent from beyond the arc, Boozer was named the Naismith College Player of the Year.
Boozer’s size is something of a question since it is unclear if he can be a true center or an athletic enough power forward in the NBA at 6’8″ and 253 pounds.
Givony named Boozer in some lofty comparisons, though, calling him a “souped-up” Kevin Love and a Paolo Banchero with far better defense. He also liked the idea of comparing Boozer to Denver Nuggets superstar center and three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokić because of their shared passing ability.
In the weeks leading up to the June 23 NBA draft, most mock drafts have been rigid when it comes to the top four with Dybantsa going first to the Washington Wizards, Peterson second to the Utah Jazz, Boozer third to the Memphis Grizzlies and North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson fourth to the Chicago Bulls.
That was indeed the case with the latest mock from Bleacher Report NBA draft expert Jonathan Wasserman.
Givony’s comments and analysis suggest there could be some movement over the next few weeks, though, in the form of Boozer potentially breaking into the top two.
