One revealing detail from Jonathan Givony could matter for Cameron Boozer’s draft stock

Despite a dominant freshman season that saw Cameron Boozer win the National Player of the Year award in a runaway, the Duke star has not been getting serious consideration for the No. 1 pick in the NBA Draft in recent weeks.

While the big three in the draft have remained Boozer, AJ Dybantsa, and Darryn Peterson, Boozer has been consistently viewed as No. 3. The talk surrounding the top pick has fluctuated between Peterson and Dybantsa, with the pendulum swinging pretty wildly in Dybantsa’s favor as the pre-draft process gets started in earnest.

But it’s important to remember that draftniks on social media and your favorite mock drafter don’t work for NBA front offices, and those who do sometimes hold different opinions than what is seen publicly as the general consensus.

And according to Jonathan Givony of Draft Express, that could be highly beneficial to Boozer in the lead-up to the draft next month.

Cameron Boozer might be more of a serious candidate at No. 1 in the NBA Draft than you might think

The Washington Wizards hold the No. 1 pick after winning the lottery, and they could be much further along in contending in the East than it may look on the outside. A couple of Trade Deadline deals netted them both Anthony Davis and Trae Young, which gives them a nucleus that should allow them to be an immediate playoff team in the East next season.

That could factor into the decision at No. 1. Perhaps Dybantsa and Peterson have higher upsides, but there’s no safer bet in this class than Boozer, who will almost certainly be a guy who makes an immediate impact on winning from the moment he steps foot onto an NBA court.

That’s going to matter in the lead-up to the draft.

That’s Boozer’s singular focus. He wants to win, and he’s a winner. He won four state championships and two gold medals during his high school career. Duke didn’t capture the national championship during his one year in Durham, but the Blue Devils did capture both the ACC regular season and tournament titles.

Boozer’s most popular landing spot in mock drafts since the lottery has been the Memphis Grizzlies, who pick No. 3. The Utah Jazz pick second, but with a frontcourt that features Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen, and Walker Kessler, they’ve never made sense as a landing spot for Boozer.

Boozer’s measureables on Monday did him some favors in terms of becoming a more serious candidate at the top of the draft, too. He measured at over 6-foot-8 without shoes, with a 7’1.5 wing span and a 9’0 standing reach. Those are numbers that will make teams more comfortable having him play some small-ball five, which was a question with his athleticism.

The numbers compare favorably to Al Horford, who has been a frequent comp for Boozer this year.

There’s still a long way to go between now and the NBA Draft in late June. There will be plenty of twists and turns to come, but it’s becoming obvious early in the process that Boozer very well could be the No. 1 pick next month, as many once predicted.