Cameron Boozer is a winner, and he won his NBA debut with the Memphis Grizzlies.
On that front, the former Duke Blue Devils star likely left the arena happy on Wednesday night, knowing that his team was 1-0.
But it wasn’t all smooth sailing for Boozer, either, in the Grizzlies’ 123-103 win over the Utah Jazz and second overall pick Darryn Peterson.
The Grizzlies took Boozer with the No. 3 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft as a player who looked to be the most NBA-ready in his entire draft class.
Boozer should, to be fair, have a great career ahead of him.
But his first night at the office definitely left a little bit to be desired.
Cameron Boozer NBA Debut Stats
The Grizzlies clearly trusted Boozer to be their leader even in his NBA debut as he led the way with 33 minutes.
Boozer’s shot-making just let him down.
The rookie finished with seven points in his debut while making just 2-of-15 shots from the floor. Boozer was 0-for-6 from 3-point range. He made 3-of-4 free throws.
Boozer did pitch in elsewhere, as you’d expect, grabbing 11 rebounds and dishing out five assists while only having one turnover. He didn’t have a steal or a block.
As far as impact, Boozer finished with a plus-32 in his time on the floor during a 20-point win, so it seems Memphis got more good than bad out of Boozer.
Part of the reason Boozer was so appealing to professional teams is that he’s not just a scorer. He can positively impact games in other ways, and it’s clear he did that on opening night despite his shooting struggles.
Still, the Grizzlies would surely like to see Boozer find the basket more often on his shot attempts going forward. They just didn’t need it Wednesday as Ty Jerome went bananas and dropped 45 points.
It also wasn’t the easiest matchup size-wise for Boozer, because Utah has a ton of length with Jaxson Hayes, Jaren Jackson Jr. and Lauri Markkanen in its starting frontcourt. Hayes blocked six shots.
There will be better offensive nights for Boozer, but he had to be happy to start with a win.
Darryn Peterson
Having the No. 3 pick Boozer play the No. 2 pick Peterson in the opener was a fun subplot.
Peterson started for Utah and played 31 minutes. He scored nine points on 3-for-7 shooting, missing his only 3-point attempt and going 3-for-4 from the foul line. He added four rebounds and three assists while turning it over once.
The view on Peterson in the draft was that his upside was higher than Boozer’s, so that’s not the kind of thing that would necessarily show up immediately.
And on the scoreboard, it’s Boozer 1, Peterson 0.
Cameron Boozer’s NBA Debut From Duke For Grizzlies Misses Mark