Stop Sleeping: Cayden Boozer
…and quit comparing him to his brother.
Cayden Boozer is a 6’4, 200 lbs point guard headed to Duke. He is the 21st-best prospect according to 247 Sports and is the fourth-ranked PG. Despite this, people seem to compare him to his twin brother Cameron…who is 6’9”, 215 lbs…and is the top-ranked big in the 2025 recruitment class.
As someone who grew up being compared relentlessly to my own twin brother, I feel for Cayden. My brother is an excellent musician, I am not, yet people expect me to be purely off on the fact that my brother is. We both ended up becoming pastors and we get compared, sometimes ruthlessly, as preachers, as writers, and as teachers. This gives me a bit of sympathy for Cayden who keeps being compared to Cameron and not measuring up. While he’s Cayden is half a foot shorter he also is a real NBA prospect in his own right.
One thing that always bothered me with basketball is that people compared my brother and I and assumed we would play exactly the same. Even though we are both short I played more as a forward and my brother was a guard. It meant we played drastically different and had different strengths. Therefore, people who judged me on how well I could shoot would be disappointed and people who judged Jonathan on his post footwork would think he was worse. In this article, I want to focus on who Cayden is without comparing him directly to Cameron.
In the 96 games in the Cerebro Database Cayden Boozer averaged 12 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists, and 2 steals on 59/35/76 shooting. He is a solid point guard with good size for the position, his rebounding numbers are good, especially for sharing the floor with his brother of all people.
The main thing that stands out about Cayden is the decision-making.
As pointed out here a 2.98 assist to turnover ratio in EYBL play is simply ridiculous. And these aren’t just easy reads, he has real vision for passes. He is already comfortable in the pick-and-roll.
Here is another highlight reel to show a bit of the rest of his offense, via Courtside Films.
His physical ability as a point guard to get downhill and finish through contact will pay off at Duke and on into the league. His pull-up mid-range game is deadly and again his decision-making is top-notch.
While he’s not as tall or as long as his brother, Cayden still has excellent size as a point-of-attack defender and uses his hands well to disrupt opposing ball handlers mid-dribble.
He is also extremely smart off-ball and knows when to jump passing lanes.
The only thing that could stand in his way next year is if too many guards return to Durham. With Caleb Foster, Isaiah Evans, and Tyrese Proctor currently on the roster and none of them looking like surefire first-rounders at the moment, there is a chance for a log jam. However, Boozer is clearly the best and will come with instant chemistry with Duke's best player in the pick-and-roll.
I am a big fan of Cayden also being a first-round prospect next year, I think he has and likely will continue to be held back by comparisons to Cameron, but he is an extremely high floor capable floor general who can contribute on both ends.
While it’s not out of the question that Cayden could maybe stay an extra year in college I don’t see a world where such a great decision-maker on both sides of the floor doesn’t make some sort of an impact on the league. I would be shocked if in a few years, Cayden just due to his solid ability to make decisions isn’t considered a top 10 player in whatever draft class he enters.