2026 NBA Summer League: Carlos Boozer participates in Reddit AMA
Carlos Boozer answered questions from the NBA Reddit community about his 13-year NBA career and his son Cam's start to his own.
NBA.com Staff
July 14, 2026 5:03 PM
Carlos Boozer talked his career, his son Cameron Boozer and more on a Reddit AMA. Carlos Boozer, a 13-year NBA veteran known for his patented mid-range jumper and post game, answered questions from the NBA Reddit community about his career and his son, Cameron Boozer, who was selected No. 3 overall by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2026 NBA Draft.
Thank you for doing an AMA! Your time on the Bulls were some of my favorite Bulls teams growing up to root for, especially when you played with Joakim Noah, [Luol] Deng and of course, D-Rose. Any off-court moments that you remember with that team that stand out looking back? Was Joakim as wild off the court as on?
I just think all of it. I think obviously the reason why we had such great chemistry on the court with our group was because we hung out off the court together; we went to movies, dinners, we hung out on the road, we hung out at home, like we spent so much time together. There was a couple of occasions where we went out, and Joakim was shirtless on top of a couple tables, but we had a good time together.
Other than being great at basketball, how do you prove yourself as a second rounder and have such staying power? How much does your approach to playing in the league differ from your son who is such a high draft pick?
Yeah, for me, I thought I was one of the best college players my junior year coming out, and I flipped to the 2nd round, so I had a huge chip on my shoulder. Felt like I had something to prove every single night in the NBA, and that turned into a 13-year career. I was very blessed to play with some great players, and also at the same time for my son, heās had an incredible early start to his career. Heās only 18 years old still, but was College Player of the Year last year and swept all the awards in that regard, dominated high school basketball, Peach Jam, all the things. Very fortunate, very excited for him to be the 3rd pick in the NBA Draft to a great organization, the Grizzlies, and looking forward to his career.
You were one of the last masters of the high-percentage mid-range post-up. How do you reconcile your signature āgrind-it-outā style with the modern āpace-and-spaceā era? Do you feel like you would have adjusted your game to shoot more threes, or would you have stayed true to your post-game dominance?
Thatās a great question. I think that the game has changed so much where thereās so much pace. Theyāre playing with way more possessions nowadays than we had back then. When I played, it was more of a half-court type of offense, and you obviously ran in transition opportunistically. Now, even if youāre in the half-court, youāre trying to get shots up within 7-8 seconds, so very different. I think I would have tried, but I would have been a combo. I would have been able to still do my style of playing down low, hitting the 17-foot middy, but also would have stretched out a little bit further to the 3-point line out of necessity for spacing. And played more up tempo as well.
Who was toughest to guard during your career? Were you assigned anyone that gave you a run for your money?
Two guys that were nightmares for me matchup-wise were Kevin Garnett in his Minnesota years. I mean, Big Ticket was 7-foot-1 and could do everything. The post-up game, mid-range game, play defense. He was the best defensive big I ever played against. He can guard 1 through 5, and guess what? He let you know about it the whole game, so you had to hear about it. So, he was the first guy. The second guy would be Dirk Nowitzki. I mean, I know itās not like the sexy Kobe Bryants and LeBrons. That wasnāt my matchup. My matchup was the power forward, so I went against, like, Tim Duncan, Rasheed Wallace, Kevin Garnett, and Ben Wallace. And Iām telling you, Dirk Nowitzki was just as good as all of them. He could shoot a 3, he could go by you. You saw him carry the Dallas Mavericks past the loaded Miami Heat team with the Big 3 in the Finals. Dirk Nowitzki, if you donāt know who he is, go look him up.
Which franchise did you feel the most comfortable playing for?
Iāll be honest with you, itās an honor and a blessing to have made the NBA, getting drafted by Cleveland, going to Utah, having a chance to learn from Jerry Sloan and be a star, going to Chicago and playing with an incredible team with Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah and Luol Deng, and having a chance to possibly win a championship. Ended my career in Los Angeles and playing with the late great Kobe Bryant, one of my big brothers and favorite players of all time. All four of those teams, to me, was an honor to play for those four franchises. There wasnāt a team that I wish I would have played for, but there was a player. I wish I could have played with Big Shaq. He just seems like one of those great teammates that would have made everything fun, and we would have won a lot of games.
What is your favorite memory or story youād be willing to share from the Redeem Team?
The Redeem team, we had so many stories. I mean, to be in Vegas obviously for Summer League, we spent 3 weeks here in Vegas training, getting ready for the Beijing Olympics, and the one that Iāve told on the Redeem team documentary, Iāll tell it to you real quick right now. Weāre in Vegas, so we get done with our practice day. 12 of us on the Olympic team, 11 of us went out, had a great time. We get back to the Wynn, the hotel, at like 3:45 in the morning. Weāre coming through the lobby, and here comes Kobe walking through with his security. And Iām over here like āKobe, where you going?ā And heās like, āIām going to the gym, I got goals.ā And so we go on the elevator, and Iām self-reflecting. Iām looking down to my right, and I see D-Wade, and Iām looking over to my left, and I see Dwight, I see Bron, and I look at myself, and Iām like, āDamn, I got goals. Yāall got goals?ā Next thing you know weāre all on Kobeās schedule, and it was just his work ethic. 5 a.m. workouts. 7 p.m., getting up more shots, going hard, super hard during practice for those 3 or 4 hours, and we did everything that Kobe did moving on from that day, and we got ourselves a gold medal in Beijing.
Whatās the biggest piece of advice you gave to your son, that most kids who go the league wonāt end up hearing until they make it?
The biggest advice I gave my son was to enjoy the moment. I know heās had a lot of great moments, a lot of success early in life. Again, heās only 18 years old, turns 19 next week, and my biggest advice was donāt let the moments pass you by. Thatās one of the mistakes that I made. I would win the ACC championship, and Iām looking forward to the National Championship, so my mindās going to that. Won the National Championship. Iām getting ready to get drafted. I never really celebrated the small victory. So I told my son, just be where your feet are. Conquer today if you have practice today, if you have a film session, if you have a Summer League game out here in Vegas. Conquer each moment, conquer each day, and enjoy each moment because you may never play Summer League again. Youāre never going to get drafted again. All those moments have happened, so make sure you soak in that moment as you continue to plan for your future.
What do you see as Camās potential ceiling in the league?
He can be as good as he wants to be. I mean, that kid has all the skills. Heās so versatile on both sides of the ball. Some of these guys only play on one side of the ball. Cam is a dominant player on offense and defense. I think one of his most awesome attributes is his passing ability, I think itās underrated. He has great vision. He sees everything a play ahead. Heās obviously a dominant post-up player. His 3-point shot is getting better and better. He gets to his middy. The biggest skill set that he has is winning. He figures out ways to win, and thatās the biggest asset that he has thatās gonna make him a great player for a long time.
Did you train Cam yourself or did you have other coaches involved? Was there a daily routine or a clear plan outlined on a regular schedule?
Yeah, me and Mom, trained them, but we had trainers that came in that were elite. We had different guys at different stages of their careers that would implement different things for them. Obviously, at some point, 6th or 7th grade, we got them with Coach George and Coach Andrew, who were their AAU coaches at Knight Riders and also their high school coaches at Columbus High School, where they had so much success. They also train them still to this day. And the reason why is because they train NBA players. They train Tyler Herro and Bam Adebayo and Immanuel Quickley and they train guys that are playing at the elite level today, and thatās what I wanted around my kids to be able to learn the nuances of the game, todayās game, not the game I played 15 years ago. So itās important to always be innovative. Itās also important to be open-minded, and itās extremely important to find the coaches that can help your players and help your sons get to that level. Thatās what we did. We found the right coaches so they can take them to the next level.
What part of Camās game is something that you didnāt particularly excel in or didnāt feature that you are proudest of the most?
I think Cam is just so versatile on both sides, but he can guard the 1, the 2, the 3, the 4, even some 5s, and thatās something I really didnāt excel at. I was pretty much a power forward. So if you were a power forward, I got you. But if he was a 2, 3 and a 5, you know what I mean? So Iām impressed by how heās able to move his feet, use his length and his IQ to be in the right position. Iām very impressed by his defense.
Is there anything you have taught Cam to not do like you did and made him learn from any of your mistakes?
No, I think heās such a student. He figures stuff out very quickly. Heās one of the rare players in this draft thatās able to make adjustments in real time. A lot of guys have to go back at halftime to get a talk about the coach or watch some film. Cam is able to read it during the game and can make an adjustment, which is very rare.
When you were playing I remember reading about some unorthodox training strategies your dad had. Specifically I remember he taught you to eat breakfast with your off-hand. Did you carry over any of those techniques to Cam and Cayden?
Yeah thatās very old-school type of training my dad did. He didnāt want to be one-dimensional. He wanted me to be able to use both hands, be ambidextrous, on the basketball court. So, he would have to tie my hand behind my back, have me eat my cereal, so I could make sure I use my left hand and be just as left-handed. If you watch my NBA highlights, a lot of my dunks, when I dunked on people, I dunked it with my left hand because I was almost more comfortable with that side because he was so focused on me being able to go left and right. But no, today we just train, we do the same moves, we going right, we do the same moves going left, and somehow itās worked out.
What was it like playing with Kobe Bryant in the 2014-2015 season? And are there any qualities or similarities in the Black Mamba that you can see in your son Cameron Boozerās game?
Yeah, Kobe was unbelievable. He was one of the most studious athletes Iāve ever been around. His IQ was through the roof, the way he thought the game, the way he saw the game. Iāll tell you a quick story. Kobe was like 37 years old in 2014 or whatever he was, and youāre like 19-20, whatever it might have been, and we had training camp, so weāre going through sprints, and we drafted Jordan Clarkson. He was our rookie. Julius Randle was one of our guys. And I tell you, Kobe was the first one done in every sprint. At 37 years old. So his work ethic was unmatched. As far as similarities with Cam, I think Cam has that same kind of obsessive mindset about getting better. Heās always in the gym. Heās always watching film. Heās always asking questions. Thatās the Mamba Mentality, and I see it in my son every day.