Former Duke star Cameron Boozer had his most impressive NBA game to date on Thursday as the Memphis Grizzlies took down the Portland Trail Blazers 124-103.
Boozer recorded a triple-double of 18 points, 12 rebounds, and 12 assists.
Oh yeah, and the Grizzlies are now 5-0. They won 25 games all of last season. Five games in with Boozer, and they're up to 20% of last year's 82-game total. All he does is win, folks.
Boozer's triple-double was historic in a variety of ways:
At 19 years and 103 days old, the former Duke superstar became the second-youngest player to record a triple-double in NBA history, behind only Josh Giddey, who recorded one when he was 19 years and 84 days old.
He's now the youngest forward since some guy named LeBron James to score 15+ points, grab 10+ rebounds, and dish out 10+ assists in a game, per Stat Muse.
He's also the second rookie in NBA history to average 15+ points and 10+ rebounds per game while leading their team to a 5-0 start to the season, joining Hakeem Olajuwon in 1984-85, per ESPN Insights.
Cameron Boozer is the early favorite to win the NBA's Rookie of the Year
On FanDuel, Boozer is the leader in the NBA's Rookie of the Year race through his first five games at +175. He's just ahead of the Golden State Warriors' Yaxel Lendeborg at +320.
Boozer has made a quick impact in the league despite some struggles shooting the ball. It's not abnormal for a rookie to need an adjustment when it comes to putting the ball in the hoop, especially one who is just 19 years old.
Jazz rookie Darryn Peterson is having similar struggles at just 34.9% from the floor. Bulls rookie Caleb Wilson is at just 41%, too.
Boozer is a little lower at 32%, but his 95% from the foul line points to his early shooting struggles as more fluky than anything else. He's still averaging 15.4 points per game while adding 10.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists a night.
More importantly than any statistical number is that Memphis is off to a 5-0 start. Boozer is doing for the Grizzlies exactly what his biggest supporters knew he would do. He's brought a winning culture ot Memphis and has quickly accelerated their rebuild.
Now, some losses are coming. It's inevitable. But his impact on winning is obvious right away, and the Grizzlies are going to be a tough out for everyone in the Western Conference.
The scary part is that Boozer is still clearly just figuring things out. And he's already this good, this impactful.
That should terrify the rest of the league, and already have the two GMs who passed on him feeling foolish.
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