Hey there, Last Night In Basketballers — I am, as I do every year, re-appropriating the Three Things I Noticed on League Pass format to preview the upcoming season. Instead of three things I noticed, it’ll be something more along the lines of three things I’m looking forward to, interested in, or want to see. Some of them might be narrative-based, some might be stats, and some might include video. But they'll all be focused on the 2026-27 campaign.
The schedule for those posts will be as follows (podcasts previewing each division with Mo Dakhil are in parentheses):
- Atlantic Division (BOS, BKN, NYK, PHI, TOR) (Podcast)
- Central Division (CHI, CLE, DET, IND, MIL) (Podcast)
- Southeast Division (ATL, CHA, MIA, ORL, WAS) (Podcast)
- Pacific Division (GSW, LAC, LAL, PHX, SAC) (Podcast)
- Northwest Division (DEN, MIN, OKC, POR, UTA) (Podcast)
- Southwest Division (DAL, HOU, MEM, NOP, SAS) (Podcast)
So without further ado, let's get to the Memphis Grizzlies, who have now definitively moved into a new era.
Just a heads up: this one is going to be shorter today because I don't have a lot of time.
Cam Boozer, ready
I don't know that Boozer is going to walk into the NBA and average something like 22, 10, and 4 right away (that's what he did in college), but he's gonna come pretty close. Consider what he did during the preseason: 11-5-4 in 18 minutes, 16-6-2 in 22 minutes, 10-4-3 in 12 minutes, and 19-7-3 in 29 minutes. That's preseason, obviously, and it doesn't matter in the grand scheme of things, but it gives you an idea of just how quickly he can fill a box score.
Boozer is so polished, so decisive, so versatile, that he almost can't help but be productive. He's going to make a living posting up. (Especially against smaller defenders, but I think he can have some success against bigger guys, too.) He's going to make a living running both ends of pick and rolls. He's going to make a living shooting from the outside. He's going to do everything. And on this Grizzlies team, he'll have a chance to be the operational hub right away. The numbers are going to be off the charts. (It's why I predicted on the Southwest podcast linked above that he'll be the Rookie of the Year.)
I'm not sure that Boozer will end up being the best player in this draft class. I think that AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson have higher ceilings, and that Caleb Wilson probably does, too. However, I do think that Boozer is the most likely player of that group to max out every inch his potential and be really, really good for a really, really long time, and that might be just as important.
The full range of outcomes therefore definitely includes him being the best player in the class; that might even be the most likely result, considering the relative likelihood of each player hitting their respective ceiling. Whether he ultimately becomes the best player in the class down the line or not, I think his game is going to translate immediately, and lead to some bonkers stat lines on a night-to-night basis.