Duke basketball: The 10 greatest NBA Blue Devils of all time
By Matt Giles
All-time top 10 Duke basketball pro: No. 6 Carlos Boozer
Like Deng, Carlos Boozer was in his prime with the Chicago Bulls. Unlike Deng, that 2010-11 season was Boozer’s first in the Windy City. Prior to his arrival, between two seasons with the Cleveland Cavaliers before carving out a productive stint with the Utah Jazz, the Alaskan had spent eight years making fools out of all those who let him slip to No. 35 overall at the 2002 NBA Draft.
A three-year Duke basketball star and 2001 national champ — and the namesake of this writer’s now-late beagle, which may or may not have earned him a few bonus points on this list — Boozer kicked off his consistently productive 13-year NBA career by averaging 10.0 points as a rookie. The 2007 and 2008 All-Star never fell below that mark the rest of the way.
As a result, the nimble, powerful, smooth forward/center sits No. 3 among all Blue Devils with his 13,976 points as a pro. Also, Boozer ranks No. 2 on the Duke list with 8,192 rebounds in the NBA. And that’s nearly 2,000 more than No. 3 on the list. But it’s nearly 1,000 less than the total from the 10-inch hands of Elton Brand, who just so happens to sit one notch higher here as well…