Cam Boozer Stole the Ball and Punched It Home. His Summer League Statement Came Early.

Cam Boozer didn’t wait long to make his first Summer League impression count.

Friday night at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas, the No. 3 pick stripped the ball from Caleb Wilson, the No. 4 pick, and went the other way for a one-handed slam that got the Memphis Grizzlies bench off their seats. It was the kind of play that reminds you why these two were taken in the top four.

The moment came in the first quarter of Memphis’s Summer League opener against the Chicago Bulls. Boozer reading the passing lane, poking the ball loose, and finishing in one smooth motion. Transition dunk. Crowd noise. The whole deal.

This wasn’t just any sequence. It was the first time Boozer and Wilson had shared an NBA court after spending last season as the two most talked-about freshmen in college basketball. Boozer at Duke. Wilson at North Carolina. The rivalry followed them here.

Boozer averaged 22.5 points and 10.2 rebounds a night for the Blue Devils and took home the Naismith Player of the Year trophy. His season ended with that ugly 73-72 loss to UConn in the Elite Eight, but the individual numbers were impossible to ignore.

Wilson was no slouch either. He put up 19.8 points and 9.4 boards at Chapel Hill and set the freshman record for most 20-point games in program history. He also rattled off 24 straight double-digit scoring games. That’s a North Carolina record for a first-year player.

Two totally different styles

Boozer is the polished, high-IQ forward who can score from anywhere. He’s got the footwork, the touch, the feel for when to pass and when to pull. Wilson is more of a physical freak — long, explosive, the kind of athlete who changes a game without needing the ball in his hands.

But Friday it was Boozer who landed the first real highlight. One steal. One dunk. Plenty of summer left.

Memphis has more games coming this week. Monday against Dallas. Tuesday against Golden State. Thursday against Atlanta. Chicago plays Utah on Monday, Washington on Wednesday, and the Lakers on Thursday.

Boozer and Wilson will meet again. Maybe next time, it’s Wilson’s turn to answer.