Cameron Boozer says the Memphis Grizzlies are about to flip the script. The third pick in the 2026 NBA Draft told Grind City Media the team will "really surprise people this year" and be "shockingly good" in the 2026-27 season, a bold forecast for a roster coming off a 25-57 year.
The timing is what gives the comment weight. Boozer turns 19 in July and is about to begin his first professional season after averaging 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 4.1 assists at Duke, where he shot 55.6% from the floor, 39.1% from 3-point range and 78.9% on free throws. He also led college basketball with a 17.1 box plus-minus, helped Duke reach the Elite Eight and swept major national player of the year honors.
His confidence matters because Memphis is asking a lot of a young group all at once. The Grizzlies are expected to pair Boozer with Zach Edey in the frontcourt, and Cedric Coward and Jaylen Wells are also part of the core the team is building around. Zach Kleiman reshaped that group after the 2025 coaching change that installed Tuomas Iisalo, and Memphis also used later draft picks on Karim Lopez and Richie Saunders.
That makes Boozer's optimism easy to understand and hard to ignore. The Grizzlies lost 21 of their last 23 games last season, their worst stretch since drafting Ja Morant in 2019, and the numbers point to a team that was clearly in a reset. Yet Boozer said people do not fully appreciate the roster because of the rebuild label, arguing that the players arriving now could make the group something special.
The biggest question is whether the talent can line up fast enough to matter early. Memphis's success hinges on how quickly its young players mesh, and it also depends on whether Edey is fully healthy after ankle surgery. Boozer said the advice that matters most from his father is simple: stay focused on the present. For Memphis, the present starts now, and the answer to the rebuild may come faster than most people expect.
