Grizzlies Select Duke Forward Cameron Boozer at No. 3

The Memphis Grizzlies selected Duke forward Cameron Boozer with the third overall pick in Tuesday night's NBA draft. "I don't even know how to describe it, honestly," Boozer told ESPN's Lisa Salters shortly after his selection. " The Grizzlies entered the draft holding two additional selections in the top 32.

They chose Karim Lopez of the New Zealand Breakers at No. 21 and acquired five future second-round picks through trades.

The team sent the draft rights to Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz at No. 16 to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for the rights to Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie at No. 17. Memphis then traded Okorie's rights to the Detroit Pistons for Lopez at No. 21 and three additional second-round picks.

General manager Zach Kleiman said the combination of young players and first-round assets would speak for itself soon.

Boozer, who will turn 19 in July, led college basketball in box plus-minus during his lone season at Duke with a 17.1 score. He averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals while shooting 39.1 percent from three-point range. Boozer joins Cedric Coward, Jaylen Wells and Zach Edey on the Memphis roster.

He is the son of two-time NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer and was named consensus college player of the year. The Grizzlies continue a personnel reset that began in 2025 when they dismissed longtime coach Taylor Jenkins. Boozer said he expects the team to surprise people this season.