Cayden Boozer: Sibling Thrivalry
Stephen Gillaspie breaks down the game of Cayden Boozer and explains why he should be considered a REAL lottery-level talent.
It’s no secret that the 2026 NBA Draft Class is going to be dominated by the headliners. AJ Dybantsa was once considered to be THE #1 prospect in his class. Darryn Peterson has since supplanted AJ as the prize of next year’s draft. And lurking in the shadows—like a horror movie villain—is Cameron Boozer, son of NBA great, Carlos Boozer. Plenty of fans and analysts believe that Cam could wind up being the best prospect in this class.
Cameron is widely thought of as “the winning-est prospect” that we’ll watch this season. Having received accolades such as Gatorade Player of the Year, McDonald’s All-American Game co-MVP, Florida’s Mr. Basketball—the list seems to have no end.
I’m not trying to minimize those awards that were earned by Cam. In fact, I mean not to. Instead of stealing shine from Cam, I want to elevate the player that was there with him—step-for-step—in terms of the winning. That would be his twin brother, Cayden Boozer.
Cayden is a state champion in Florida four times over. He also won the 2025 Chipotle Nationals. He was a part of the first team ever to sweep the Peach Jam tournament for three straight years. He’s also a two-time gold medalist.
There’s no denying that Cayden has played alongside a player who may end up being the best player in this class, but two things can be true at once. Yes, there are benefits to playing with Cam, but Cayden is an accomplished player based on his own merit.
Hoops Trending
Before I dive into the film of Cayden Boozer, I want to help shed some light on what’s going on in the NBA. I’ve spoken with David Thorpe (a prominent skills trainer and contributor to True Hoop) over the Summer and during the College Basketball Exhibitions. He took some time to share some of the things that NBA teams have been sharing with him, in terms of what they are looking for in players now.
“I have had head coaches talk to me about players, and the first thing they ask is: Would they be willing to pick up full court, and can they handle the ball against pressure?”
I told him that those two things stood out in the Finals when watching the Thunder face off against the Pacers. I tucked away that nugget over the Summer, and particularly as the NBA season has kicked off. Those two components of the criteria haven’t died down in the early portions of the NBA calendar.
Yahoo’s Kevin O’Connor actually noted that the NBA’s use of full-court pressure has been on an upward trend since 2023. Here is an excerpt from Kevin’s piece:
“Teams are pressing more and more because it can cause more turnovers, force the ball into a non-primary creator’s hands and steal time. By stealing six-to-eight seconds, it forces the opponent to run its offense when the clock is winding down.”
Handling Pressure
Of the two things Coach Thorpe shared with me, let’s break down how Cayden handles pressure first. As a lead guard, one of the best measures of how a player handles pressure would be based on their pick-and-roll sets. This play type requires an acute awareness of where everyone on the court is—on offense and defense. Even if you’re not being picked up full court, the half court can be just as obstructed with traps and pits of quicksand.
***NOTE: Some of these clips are going to be longer than normal due to the multiple points that should be discussed***
This first clip is going to highlight Cayden (#2 in white) bringing the ball up the court with pressure. The factors that should be considered in his comfort level with pressure are, of course, his basketball genetics, but also his frame. Duke lists Boozer at 6’4” and 205 pounds. Cayden’s frame allows him to take on the bumps and contact that come with more physical defense. This pressure is meant to deter Cayden from poking and prodding the defense, while also taking away clean passes to his teammates.
Brewster Academy pressures Cayden’s Columbus squad and meets him at about 3/4 court. He takes the time to organize his teammates before going into a two-man action with his brother, Cam (#12 in white). The ball swings to the left side of the court and into Cam’s hands on the block. Cam kicks the ball to the opposite corner, and the offense shifts left due to the bunching that happens.
Cayden gets the ball back at the top of the key with 10 seconds on the clock. Cayden passes the ball back to Cam on the left elbow extended. Cam faces up, drives, and kicks the ball back out to Cayden. In just three seconds, he shifts his weight to drive left, runs off a rub screen set by Cam, and rises up on the left elbow against two defenders to drain a contested, fallaway middy.
Cayden makes an extremely difficult play look routine.
Pressure can burst pipes, but it can also create diamonds.
We’ll see Cayden bring the ball up while being defended the length of the court. Cayden brings the ball up with his off hand across the court, and waits for the screen set to his right. Cayden dribbles to his right, but then shifts back left to reroute his man into the screener again to create an opening. Once his defender is caught in the muck, Cayden rises up on the left elbow and cashes in the middy.
Cayden ranked in the 89th percentile in the mid-range while at Columbus. This shot made up about 37% of his total jumper profile. While shots at the rim and from deep are of particular analytical interest, having a reliable shot in between those two gives the defense more reasons to defend in earnest.
That fact is made evident in this clip.
In another example of Cayden handling pressure for the length of the court, we see our guy drive the ball up the floor with his left, and then shifting right into a high pick and roll with his brother. With Cayden’s man being ensnared in a Cameron Boozer pick, Cayden gives a little hang dribble.
This slight hesitation in key, as he is a respected mid-range assassin. Cayden’s man must sprint to meet Cayden on the elbow, as he is aware his assignment can hit that shot. That closeout leaves a driving lane open for Cayden, which he exploits in a moment of suddenness. The defense tries to recover, but Cayden floats up a soft shot that finds the bottom of the net.
Pressuring a ball handler is not a bad strategy, so long as they are scoring-tilted. The problem with sending frantic or additional defense Cayden’s way is that he maps the court well. We’ll see that in this clip against Montverde.
Again, Cayden is getting some pressure prior to crossing half court. Cayden opts to drive right off of Cam’s screen. Cayden’s drive causes the defense to collapse to the point where he is essentially getting walled off. We’ve seen earlier how Cayden could have lifted a floater up to finish in the paint, but Cam makes a smart play here. He flings the ball across the court for a hockey assist in the left corner.
No stat here for Boozer, but he handles pressure the right way and makes the correct pass for his team.
Here’s another example of Cayden playing with feel under pressure. The ball starts off on the right of the floor but finds its way into our guy’s hands. Cayden works the two-man game with his brother and attacks a driving lane. Help slides over to meet him at the rim, and another defender stunts in a dig. With the defense respecting his driving game, Cayden looks to the basket but kicks out the ball to the same-side corner for an open three. This type of play is only possible if a player has good feel and composure, plays heads up, and can map the floor.
It’s one thing to be able to make lateral passes out of pressure, as many of those types of plays can have planned (or schemed) escape routes. Advancing the rock in the face of pressure is another challenge entirely.
The ball is moved to Cayden’s direction on the right side of the floor, where Cam Boozer meets him with a screen to his left. Cayden uses his brother’s screen, but then he is trapped by the defense. Notice the pass that our guy opts to go with here. Cayden fires in a lefty bounce pass that finds his brother in step. Cam takes a power dribble and finishes with his left.
Nothing about Cayden’s pass felt rushed or pressured—just a well-timed and well-placed pass.
Not a ton has been said of Cayden’s athleticism as a prospect. This is likely because he isn’t exceptional in one area. Just because he isn’t exceptional, though, doesn’t mean that he isn’t a solid athlete.
Most of Cayden’s athleticism is power or strength-based.
In this clip, we’re going to start out with the ball on the left side of the floor, bringing it out to the wing. Cam Boozer is going to be in position to set a screen to Cayden’s right, but Cayden rejects it. Instead, Cayden attacks to his left.
The next few microseconds are incredible. Cayden spins off of his man to start. Next, Cayden rises up into a shot. As Cayden is getting into his shot, he recognizes that the help is rotating over to contest his shot. In an instant, our guy rotates the ball over to his right hand and rockets a pass to the opposite order for an open three.
The amount of balance, lift, and core strength to make a play like this is absurd—let alone the awareness to know where the opening in the defense is.
Applying Pressure
On defense, applying pressure requires a certain type of mentality. You have to want to fluster and frustrate the ballhandler. You have to have the requisite level of size, feel, athleticism, and anticipation. Cayden can be outright special on the defensive side of the floor.
We’ll see this a few times over the course of this article, but Cayden is pretty incredible at playing off of his man to force a turnover outside “his area”.
This clip starts with ball in the heart of the paint. Cayden is stunting to the ball handler to force the ball back to the perimeter. Cayden recovers back to the left wing, and applies even more pressure to force the ball back to the top of the key. While the ball handler looks to take his defender off the bounce, Cayden waits for the crossover to come back to the left so that he can quickly strike.
Easy turnover for Boozer.
This play is going to go quickly, but I just want to highlight just how fast Cayden can force pressure, and convert that pressure into a turnover.
A quick shallow cut on the right wing causes a switch to take place, as the ball handler flat out sprints to the baseline. Cayden has to pick him up. His new man is a bit taller than Cayden, but not strong enough to move him off his spot. Cayden cuts off the drive.
Cayden is smart. He realizes that the ball handler is hugging the baseline, and won’t be able to finish with his right hand. That means that his man is coming back left. Realizing this, Cayden read the rip-through correctly, and he swipes the ball away for a steal.
When playing defense that is applying pressure, oftentimes offenses will try to beat the pressure with longer passes in an attempt to get the defense out of position. To play in a defensive scheme that will pressure the ball, you have to anticipate and read the offense.
Cayden is certainly capable of doing that.
In this clip, Cayden’s responsibility is his man at the left elbow. Understanding that his man isn’t heavily used in this action, Boozer surveys the offense and sees where the ball is going to go.
Like a kid about to cross the street, Cayden looks to his right and then his left—his right and then his left. Once the ball handler picks up his dribble, Boozer shoots the passing lane with suddenness and gets the transition bucket.
Here is another example of Cayden reading longer passes. This clip flies by, but you see everything you need to know about our guy’s anticipation. As the ball is being driven down the left side, the defense pressures it. There is really only one escape route left to utilize, but only one defender to cover it.
Luckily for Columbus, it’s Cayden, who reads the eyes of the ball handler like an NFL safety. Boozer cuts off the baseline pass for a steal.
If you’re going to pressure the ball, sometimes you’re going to get beaten. Once that happens, you have to have the necessary recovery tools to erase those mistakes.
This clip shows a press coverage that has been busted, with the offense having a 3-on-1 break. The ball handler advances the ball past half court and opts to gun in for the finish. Maybe the ball should have been passed, but it wasn’t.
Cayden knows the ball-handler is going in for the transition layup, and he shows off phenomenal geometry on this cutoff. Cayden doesn’t go to meet his man on this blocked shot, but meets the ball where it’s going. Cayden pins the ball off the backboard to erase an assumed advantage by the offense.
Curtains
When it comes to valuing guards and their success in the NBA, it isn’t as apparent as it’s sometimes made out to be. For example, why hasn’t Scoot Henderson reached the same level in the NBA as a player like Jaylen Brunson? Scoot had the age advantage, and the athleticism advantage, yet Jalen Brunson is considered in higher regard despite being a second round pick.
Understanding and power are underrated factors in terms of scouting guards into the NBA. That is where Cayden Boozer thrives. The jumper is a bit of a concern based on aesthetics, but he shot over 35% during his last season with Columbus. He also ranked in the 89th Percentile in the midrange and in the 78th percentile on his runners. He shot over 82% from the free-throw line, and he shot over 39% on his catch-and-shoot three-pointers.
Even with concerns about the shot, Cayden is just as young as his twin brother, Cam, who is discussed as the youngest and best player in the class. Even if the shot requires a bit of work, Cayden possesses a strong frame and keen intelligence, and he produces in all aspects of a basketball game.
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