Cayden Boozer Scouting Deepdive
Incoming freshman floor general Cayden Boozer possesses all of the skills necessary to potentially make an NBA leap after only one season with the Duke Blue Devils
This season’s incoming freshman class is one of the best in recent memory. Most of the attention has been directed at the class’s consensus top three recruits: Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, and Cameron Boozer. However, what makes this class particularly special is its depth, with the top thirty players (and some beyond that mark) having a chance at sneaking into lottery discussions heading into next year’s draft. That said, today I will be covering a Boozer, but not the one projected to be taken with one of the first three picks in the 2026 NBA Draft. No, I want to break down the game of his twin brother and fellow Duke commit, Cayden Boozer. Despite finding just as much success as his brother throughout their high school career, Cayden isn’t nearly as highly touted, but I’m here to tell you that if he can maintain his winning ways once he gets to Duke, there’s a very good chance he hears his name called early in the same draft as Cameron.
Player Profile:
Cayden Boozer is a 6’5” and 205lb point guard from Miami, Florida who attended Christopher Columbus High School in Westchester, Florida for his high school career. The four-star prospect (five-star according to some outlets) and McDonald’s All-American is a consensus top 25 recruit in the 2025 graduating class. He’s the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer and will be taking his talents to Duke University and head coach John Scheyer next season alongside his twin brother Cameron.
Cayden finished his illustrious prep career as one of the most decorated youth players in the history of the sport. He helped lead the Columbus Explorers to four consecutive Florida state championships. He took home two gold medals, via the FIBA U16 Americas Championship and FIBA U17 World Cup. This year, he was arguably his team’s best player in the final few games of the Chipotle Nationals as the Explorers won the most prestigious tournament in all of high school basketball. Finally, he and his brother took home three straight championships on the Nike EYBL circuit throughout their prep careers. This history of success was more than enticing for college coaches, with Boozer collecting offers from schools such as Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida, and Arkansas before committing to Duke.
Boozer’s statistical profile is impressive, and it directly suggests the role he’ll be asked to play for the Blue Devils this season. During his senior season with Columbus, he posted averages of 14.3 points per game, 7.2 assists, 3.8 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and .2 blocks on shooting splits of 61% from the field, 45% from beyond the arc, and 86% from the free-throw line. He actually averaged 16.6 points per game during his freshman campaign and 15.1 for his sophomore year, but as he shifted toward a full-time point guard role, he began to focus more on his playmaking rather than scoring.
Interior Scoring:
Boozer possesses a unique interior scoring arsenal, placing a heavy emphasis on fast break scoring and utilizing both on- and off-ball rim pressure in the half court. While he is a true lead guard and projects to maintain that categorization at the next level, he relies heavily on his teammates to maximize his interior scoring. In the past, when concrete positional conformity was valued, this may have been viewed as a negative trait. However, in a modern basketball ecosystem that values positional versatility and scoring unpredictability, his skillset from this range will likely be held at a premium moving forward.
When it comes to self-created interior scoring opportunities, he relies on a myriad of traits to maximize his effectiveness. The large majority of these attempts are generated along the perimeter, as he’s fantastic at both finding existing driving lanes and creating his own via his scoring and passing gravity. His stop-start acceleration is elite, and his ability to quickly lower his center of gravity on his drives allows him to decelerate and accelerate at any point during his journey to the hoop. A consistent theme you’ll notice throughout this article is Boozer’s ability to utilize screens to his advantage, both as a scorer and as a passer. This has been a pivotal skill for him throughout his career considering he plays with his brother, who is an excellent screener. Once he reaches the league, he will most likely have at least one high-level screener for him to work off of within the offense.
His off-ball rim pressure isn’t nearly as complex as his on-ball interior scoring, but it’s still a very viable option within his offensive arsenal. His first-step acceleration supports his effectiveness here, and considering that defensive pressure is typically less staunch in these scenarios, single-step acceleration is usually enough for him to beat his matchup and get a good look at the rim. Once again, he utilizes screens to generate most of his opportunities in this department. All in all, his willingness to operate as an off-ball agent despite being such an effective lead guard showcases his ability to fit into just about any offensive system.
As I mentioned, Boozer heavily relies on transition and fast break scoring to bolster his overall scoring output. When he’s not in position to get a rebound, he’s leaking out into the open court, and a big part of Columbus’s offensive strategy was finding him streaking down the floor. Because he’s not the best at absorbing contact on his at-the-rim attempts, these opportunities maximize his strengths while limiting the amount of defensive interference he’ll face at the hoop. His passing ability (which I’ll cover in detail soon) further weakens opposing defenses in these situations, as opponents have to choose between stopping him from scoring or stopping a teammate from going up for a lob or receiving a drop-off pass. In most cases, the defense can’t do both, ensuring that positive results occur virtually every time Boozer handles the ball in the open court.
Mid-Range Scoring:
When attempting to project Boozer’s upside, his mid-range scoring is probably one of the more intriguing elements of his game. This is where he’s at his best as a shot creator and shot maker, and if you squint hard enough, you can start to see legitimately lofty outcomes for him in the long-term. His unpredictability from this range is probably his strongest trait, as he consistently converts on just about every type of shot one could attempt from this level. I expect this part of his game to be utilized at the collegiate level, but I do have concerns (as always) about mid-range scoring directly translating to an NBA landscape that has nearly abandoned it for everyone outside of all-star talents. So, although this is a very interesting and important part of his game, I’d love to see him extend some of these skills beyond the arc.
His feel on mid-range pull-up jumpers is immediately evident when you watch him play. Not only that, but he utilizes several skills in order to heighten his potency on these looks, including intense deceleration and hasty vertical lift. While he doesn’t need a ton of space to get these shots off, he’s not tall, lengthy, or athletically gifted enough to consistently put these attempts over bigger defenders. That’s why it’s vital for him to be able to create artificial space, which is exactly what he does via step-backs and screen navigation. If he can strengthen his driving and rim pressure skills, his pull-up shooting from this range will remain viable and valuable.
A lesser type of shot from this range that Boozer is liable to attempt is the turnaround jumper. He’s solid on both standstill and moving versions of this look. As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, this is another method he utilizes to create the space necessary to get his shot off over bigger defenders. That said, this is a shot that I suspect won’t be a major part of his game moving forward. Although this is seemingly a good shot for him, it’s never going to be viewed as an efficient look, and as defenses become stronger and more advanced, there’s a chance he will begin to struggle with these looks.
One could argue that his most projectable long-term option from this range will be his floater and soft touch in-between game. His ability on these looks is very advanced for his age, which is incredibly important considering he struggles as an at-the-rim scorer on occasion. Because he’s so good on these looks, he’s able to avoid contact near the rim and instead utilize his strong touch to convert on close-range attempts. He’s excellent at contorting around defenders and converting attempts from strange and unpredictable angles. We see time and time again that professional point guards must have strong in-between games to make up for their weaknesses in other areas, and I’m confident projecting Boozer to maintain his brilliance in this department as he reaches higher levels of the sport.
He regularly combines two of his strongest traits, transition and in-between scoring, to generate a ton of points. These fast-paced scenarios are where we see him at his best as an off-angle scorer. His scoring in these specific situations is incredibly unique, and I expect him to continue finding similar success at both the collegiate and professional levels. Most opponents are not used to defending players who are capable of scoring in this fashion, which will surely be a major advantage for him moving forward.
Outside Shooting:
As far as scoring is concerned, Boozer’s weakest level is definitely from beyond the arc. This feels strange to say considering his excellent shooting percentages from this range throughout his career, but perhaps my initial statement is true only because of how good he is from close- and mid-range. Despite his lofty percentages, he’s not a great on-ball or off-the-dribble shooter and instead focuses primarily on off-ball and catch-and-shoot marksmanship. This isn’t something you love to see from a lead guard, and it’s something he’ll have to heavily polish as he progresses through his career.
A consistent theme I noticed when evaluating his off-the-dribble shooting was that almost all of his on-ball attempts came via a screen. These screens, usually set by his brother, gave him enough time and space to comfortably get his shot off. This is important because his outside shooting mechanics are significantly slower and more labored than his mechanics from the mid-range. I wouldn’t say he has a hitch in his shot motion, but his arms do remain rather stiff, slowing his shot down and making it appear as if he must put an extra push into the ball in order to get it to the rim. This clearly didn’t hinder him throughout his high school career, but it could become an issue for him as he will be challenged by stronger defenders in the future.
His mechanics on catch-and-shoot long-range attempts are noticeably more fluidly than on his off-the-dribble shooting, which explains why he attempts and converts on more of these looks. I think a big reason for this is that he loads up and uses his legs on these looks better than he does when attempting off-the-dribble threes. His mechanics are strong enough that a little polishing will go a long way, and at the end of the day his strong percentages still suggest that his shooting touch will carry him even when traditional mechanics aren’t up to par. What’s most important is that he becomes a good enough self-creator for long range to be respected, allowing his other skills to remain just as effective and more difficult to target.
Passing & Playmaking:
When it comes to immediate contribution and long-term floor maintaining traits, Boozer’s passing and table setting skills are the premier aspects of his game. He’s either the best or second-best passer in his recruiting class (I’d argue Mikel Brown Jr has a claim to that title as well), and he’s achieved this status while maintaining a very simple and effective passing arsenal. He’s a fantastic transition ball handler, and he may be the best lob passer I’ve ever evaluated at the high school level. I suspect that he will only get better as he finds himself surrounded by better and better teammates. With all of that said, he’s not the perfect pass-first point guard, but he could very well reach that tier if he continues building on his strong foundation.
It’s honestly wild how many of his assists are lobs. It certainly helped that he was surrounded by excellent lob finishers during his time at Columbus, but even with that being the case, it’s very rare that you see a player averaging as many assists as Boozer throw more lobs than any other type of pass. As I’m sure you could guess, this skill is going to become even more valuable when he reaches the professional level, as almost every player he’ll play alongside will be a fantastic lob finisher. Until then, I’d like to see him focus more on pick-and-roll passing, and less on attacking the rim in those situations. Not because he’s incapable of scoring around the basket, but because his rollers will almost certainly be better in that area than him moving forward.
I’m not sure if I just got unlucky with the games that were available to me during my film dive, but I found that Boozer isn’t all that willing of a kickout passer. This is strange considering not only his passing acumen, but also the shooting skill that surrounded him at Columbus. I only found two examples of a converted outside shot generated via a kickout pass from Boozer (I only saved one because the other was incredibly blurry and off-center). That said, I saw a handful that resulted in missed looks, but even then, the total was probably in the single digits. When it comes to finding outside shooters, he’s more of a connective passer, swinging the ball around the perimeter until an open shooter ends up attempting the shot. I’m not sure why this is, but I hope he strengthens his kickout passing during his time with Duke.
As I alluded to earlier, Boozer is an even better transition passer than he is a transition scorer. His elite lob passing is just as strong in these situations, a truly impressive trait considering the increased difficulty of throwing an accurate lob pass in a fast-paced situation. Not only does this skill strengthen his teammates’ scoring, but it also bolsters his own scoring in the open court, as defenders will often leave Boozer open for easy layups in an effort to potentially intercept the lob. All in all, while Boozer is an elite passer in certain areas, he has serious work to do in others. If he can elevate his overall passing game and become a more well-rounded table setter, he could become one of the better pass-first freshmen we’ve seen in a long time.
Defense:
Boozer was an above average defender at the high school level, utilizing his strong motor and advanced basketball IQ to make up for his lack of strength and standout athleticism. His defensive timing is fantastic, and his understanding of what’s going on around him is second to none. However, he’ll have to polish his defensive weaknesses while at Duke if he wants to make an NBA leap after one collegiate season, because as of today I’m not comfortable projecting him to be much of a defender at the NBA level.
As I said, his timing on this end of the floor is great. Not only that, but he’s also excellent at picking and choosing when to take risks, ensuring that he doesn’t give up easy points by failing to generate a steal when he jumps a passing lane. This ability is especially interesting considering how good he is in transition. The more he’s able to create fast break opportunities, the better. That said, I’m not sure if this skill alone is enough to make up for his lack of defensive playing strength or ability to stop opponents once they’ve penetrated the paint.
He almost never takes risks as a primary defender and is far more likely to attempt a steal when working away from the ball. He’s an okay lateral mover, but I’d like to see him get as low on defense as he does when driving to the basket on the offensive end. If he could get better at staying in front of his matchups, I’d feel better about his defensive outlook. It’s not necessarily fair to judge a point guard for not being a great interior defender or secondary rim protector, but if you aren’t good at staying in front of your man you better be good at recovery defense. At the moment, I’m not sure he’ll be great at either against college opponents.
Here’s an example of him recovering once being beaten off-the-dribble, but I can’t confidently say he would have recovered had the opponent drove to the rim instead of pulling up for a mid-range attempt. He did this because Cameron Boozer, a solid interior defensive big, was playing deep in the paint. This suggests that Cayden’s defensive flaws could be minimized if Duke were to play a drop defense system. That said, systematic adjustments won’t solve personal problems, and he’ll simply have to improve as an on-ball defender throughout his (probably) lone season with the Blue Devils.
Summary:
Before I summarize Boozer’s game, I want to list out any and all of his weaknesses and flaws in order to garner a better understanding of his game in its entirety. This is (obviously) important to do when evaluating a prospect, and there’s nothing wrong with a player having weaknesses, especially a high school player. Every player has countless flaws, but what makes the great players great is their ability to view their weaknesses as areas in need of improvement, not as areas void of potential. When it comes to Boozer, his game is far more mature and polished than most of his peers.
He’s not a strong vertical athlete, only dunking in fast break scenarios when there are no defenders protecting the rim. Considering his size and on-the-ground quickness, I think he could develop into an average vertical athlete.
He struggles to finish through contact around the rim. This could be because of his lack of playing strength, but I think it’s more likely that he’s simply uncomfortable in these situations. Growing as an athlete could solve this if it is a confidence issue.
He’ll occasionally attempt a floater instead of attacking the rim even when there isn’t a legitimate rim protector active near the basket. This further suggests that he’s dealing with some comfort issues when it comes to at-the-rim scoring.
It’s not fair to consider his turnaround and non-traditional mid-range shooting as a weakness, because he’s quite good on those shots. The issue is that he will likely have to alter his approach to that scoring level, as he probably won’t be permitted to attempt those shots moving forward.
His off-the-dribble and self-created shooting from beyond the arc needs a lot of work before it becomes viable at the professional level. His mechanics are stiff, and it looks like he’s compensating for something when attempting these shots. A shooting coach needs to soften his motion, allowing him to speed up his shot so that he can get if off more consistently.
His catch-and-shoot ability from long range suffers from some of the same issues as his off-the-dribble shooting, but his mechanics are slightly more fluid, and he looks less labored when attempting these looks.
He’s a good ball handler who keeps the ball low and close to the body, limiting turnovers. However, he’s not a very creative ball handler, making him somewhat predictable at times. This could become a bigger issue as he finds himself matched up against smarter defenders in the future.
In order to round out his passing game, he needs to focus on non-lob passing both in the pick-and-roll and on his drives. His kickout passing is especially limited. These issues are likely to be easily fixed considering his strong passing acumen and overall feel for the game.
He needs to figure out how to translate some of his athletic skills from the offensive end to the defensive end, namely his agility, acceleration, and overall mobility. At the moment, he’s not a great lateral mover, and regularly gets beaten off-the-dribble.
His lack of functional playing strength does limit his ability to slow down opponents when defending within the arc. As I mentioned earlier, this isn’t a major issue, as it’s unfair to overly judge a point guard for something like this.
To summarize Cayden Boozer’s game, I would make the argument that he’s probably the best offensive processor in the 2025 recruiting class. Not only is he a capable scorer from all three levels, but he also may be the best passer in his class. What makes him so interesting is that he’s this advanced despite not possessing standout physical or athletic profiles. He dominates because he’s so good at seeing the floor and analyzing the game around him. Defenses must be perfect when going up against him, for if they’re not, he will figure out a way to beat them.
His high floor is founded on his well-rounded scoring arsenal and advanced passing acumen. He’s one of the best open court operatives I’ve ever evaluated at the high school level, and his lob passing is an elite trait that could translate to the highest levels of the sport as soon as tomorrow. He also has far less weaknesses than his contemporaries, allowing him to be an immediate contributor at the college level, and perhaps even within a professional system.
Where things become interesting is when you consider how high his ceiling could be. His mid-range shot creation has flown under the radar, but it’s legitimately one of the stronger scoring traits of any player in his recruiting class. If he could push these skills beyond the arc, we could be talking about a real all-star talent. I would like to see him in a situation without his brother, as this would test his ability to conform to a new offensive system, something we haven’t seen up to this point. Overall, he’s a safe bet to be a lead guard at the college level while maintaining a ceiling that will make him more than enticing for front office decision makers once he attempts to make the professional leap.
Nice!!!