Cameron Boozer Has Orbital Fractures, Won’t Undergo Surgery
Duke forward Cameron Boozer, who is widely projected to be a top-four pick in the 2026 NBA draft, told media members on Sunday that he has a fractured orbital bone, but he decided to forgo surgery, writes Forbes contributor Jeff Fedotin.
Boozer suffered the injury last Sunday in the Blue Devils’ Elite Eight loss to UConn. The 18-year-old’s right eye was “noticeably swollen and bloodshot” today, per Fedotin.
“I have a couple of fractures, but I’m all good,” Boozer said, “just going through the healing process.”
Boozer earned numerous accolades following a freshman season in which he averaged 22.5 points, 10.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.4 steals on .556/.391/.789 shooting splits in 38 games (33.4 MPG). The first-team All-American was in Indianapolis on Sunday to accept a pair of Player of the Year trophies after previously being named AP Player of the Year.
“I’m just a winning player and all-around player,” Boozer said. “I impact the game in so many different ways. I think just my competitiveness translates to any level. So, I mean, yeah, I think any team who takes a chance on me is going to be very happy with the results they get.”
Boozer is the son of longtime NBA forward/center Carlos Boozer, a two-time All-Star whose last season came back in 2014/15.
Fischer’s Latest: Draft Prospects, Anti-Tanking Measures, Expansion Draft
Darius Acuff‘s performance with Arkansas during the NCAA Tournament has moved him into the upper echelon of NBA draft prospects, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line writes in a subscriber-only piece.
Darryn Peterson of Kansas, who’s expected to be a top-three selection, is still considered the best guard on the board, according to Fischer, but Acuff has raised his stock with his play in March – staring with the SEC Tournament. Talking to scouts around the NBA and the college game, Fischer finds that some teams are “increasingly torn” between Peterson and Acuff. A few organizations currently have Acuff ahead of the Jayhawks star, buoyed by an endorsement from Razorbacks coach John Calipari, who calls Acuff as talented as any freshman guard he’s ever coached.
“Acuff definitely put himself even further on the map,” a veteran college scout told Fischer.
Illinois guard Keaton Wagler is also moving up draft boards, Fischer adds, describing him as “a surefire top-10 pick” and stating that he’s a “near-consensus” top-three guard in a draft loaded with backcourt players.
Even though Cameron Boozer put up impressive numbers before Duke was eliminated in the regional finals, Fischer finds that many scouts remain unconvinced about how his game will translate to the NBA. The same is true for Arizona big man Koa Peat, who appears to have fallen after being projected as a top-10 pick when the season began. Scouts question Peat’s shooting, but Fischer believes his physical style will at least make him an effective NBA role player and expects him to be taken in the lottery.
Fischer has more on the NBA draft and other topics:
- There’s no set consensus on who will be selected where, and a lot will be determined by the results of next month’s lottery, Fischer adds. He points out that several of the teams with favorable lottery odds – such as the Pacers, Wizards and Jazz – expect to be much improved next season and could be drafting to fill an immediate need rather than looking for a long-term development project. With so many talented freshmen available, it’s possible that their draft ratings will vary significantly from team to team.
- Before coming up with its anti-tanking proposals, the NBA league office considered a “draft credit” system that would have required teams to bid on draft prospects, similar to the way many fantasy football leagues operate, sources tell Fischer. Instead of receiving draft picks each year, teams would have been assigned credits to be used in an auction for each selection, starting with No. 1. Those credits would have been tradable, so teams could put themselves in position to outbid their rivals for any player on the board. The proposal was ultimately considered “too radical” to adopt, according to Fischer.
- Fischer asked several team representatives about a potential expansion draft in June 2028, but was told that he’s getting ahead of himself with that speculation. The NBA’s Board of Governors voted to explore adding new teams in Seattle and Las Vegas last month, but there’s no official commitment to expand.
Draft Notes: Top Prospects, Bidunga, Mobley, Bizjack
Ahead of the 2026 NBA draft, Jeremy Woo and Tim Bontemps and ESPN interviewed over a dozen NBA scouts and executives to get their thoughts on the top prospects in this year’s class. There’s no consensus No. 1 overall pick, but most of the league personnel who spoke to ESPN viewed BYU forward AJ Dybantsa as the frontrunner.
“I guess you’d rather fail with [AJ] and his upside, than not,” a Western Conference general manager told ESPN. “And I know [Darryn] Peterson has upside, maybe [Cameron] Boozer‘s upside is a little bit less. … I just think that [AJ], because he’s 6-9 and he could be like 6-10, 230 [pounds] by the time he’s 25 years old, he could just be a monster. I think you’ve just got to go down swinging with him if you go down.”
Another Western executive said the impressive depth of talent, combined with no clear-cut No. 1 player, has created a challenging situation for NBA evaluators.
“I think this draft is, in some ways, similar to the [2024 Zaccharie] Risacher year, but on a higher level,” they said. “That year it was like, ‘Is anyone going to be really good?’ This year, it’s like, ‘Well, s–t, there’s a lot of guys.’ You have high confidence that at least some of them are going to be really, really good. You’re not really sure which ones.
“You don’t want to be drafting at one and end up with the fifth-best player.”
ESPN’s article touches on several other players projected to go in the top 10, including Caleb Wilson, Darius Acuff Jr., Kingston Flemings and Keaton Wagler.
Here are a few players who are entering their names in the 2026 draft:
- Kansas’ Flory Bidunga plans to declare for the draft while maintaining his college eligibility, reports Pete Thamel of ESPN (via Twitter). The sophomore big man is also entering the transfer portal, Thamel adds. Bidunga is viewed as a potential second-round pick after averaging 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 35 games this season for the Jayhawks. The Congolese forward/center was named the Big 12’s Defensive Player of the Year on top of being selected to the conference’s first team.
- Ohio State guard John Mobley Jr. is testing the draft waters, he announced on social media (Twitter link). As a sophomore for the Buckeyes in 2025/26, Mobley averaged 15.7 PPG, 2.8 and 2.4 APG in 31 appearances while shooting 41.1% from three-point range on high volume (7.6 attempts per game). The Ohio native, who is from a Columbus suburb, clarified that he’ll return to Ohio State if he ends up withdrawing from the draft.
- Butler guard Finley Bizjack is entering the draft while maintaining his NCAA eligibility, agent George S. Langberg tells Jon Chepkevich of DraftExpress (Twitter link). Bizjack, a junior, is also entering the transfer portal. The third-team All-Big East selection averaged 17.1 PPG, 2.5 APG and 2.1 RPG on .426/.351/.850 shooting splits across 31 appearances for the Bulldogs in ’25/26.
And-Ones: All-Defense, G League Playoffs, Acuff, Fertitta
Yahoo Sports contributor Nekias Duncan lists his picks for the two All-Defensive teams (as of March 27). Victor Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, Rudy Gobert, Bam Adebayo and Derrick White comprise Duncan’s first team, while Cason Wallace, Stephon Castle, Dyson Daniels, Scottie Barnes and Marcus Smart are on the second.
Duncan also cites nine honorable mentions who didn’t quite make the cut, including Evan Mobley, last year’s Defensive Player of the Year. Duncan says Ausar Thompson would replace Smart if he qualifies; the third-year forward needs to play at least 20 minutes in seven of Detroit’s last eight games to be eligible (Smart may not qualify either due to the requirements of the 65-game rule).
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- The 16-team field and schedule for the NBA G League playoffs has been set, the league announced in a press release. The Osceola Magic (26-10) are the top seed in the Eastern Conference, while the South Bay Lakers (26-10) are the No. 1 seed in the West. The NBAGL playoffs feature a single-elimination tournament until the finals, which is best-of-three. Osceola and the Stockton Kings (23-13, the third seed in the West) faced off in last year’s finals, with Stockton winning the title.
- Darius Acuff Jr. is widely projected to be a top-nine pick in the upcoming draft and one NBA general manager recently told Marc J. Spears of Andscape he thinks the Arkansas guard is the third-best prospect in the 2026 class, behind BYU’s AJ Dybantsa and UNC’s Caleb Wilson. Razorbacks head coach John Calipari, who has coached numerous future NBA stars in college, says teams would be foolish to pass over Acuff, a first-team All-American as a freshman. “Pass on him, you’ll regret it,” Calipari told Andscape. “I said it about Tyrese (Maxey). I’ve said it about a bunch of guys. I said it about Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander): ‘You’re going to regret passing on this kid.’ And I know there are other good players, but this kid (Acuff) is unique.”
- Rockets owner Tillman Fertitta and his family have reached an agreement to purchase the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and relocate the team to Houston, confirms Alexa Philippou of ESPN. Chris Baldwin of PaperCity Magazine first reported the news. The plan is for the Sun to finish 2026 in Connecticut before relocating in 2027. The Fertitta family is spending $300MM to buy the team, which is expected to be called the Comets. The Houston Comets were a WNBA team from 1997-2008.
Iowa State’s Milan Momcilovic To Declare For 2026 NBA Draft
Iowa State junior forward Milan Momcilovic intends to declare for the 2026 NBA draft while maintaining his college eligibility, he told Alec Busse of Cyclone Alert 247.
“I probably, definitely, (will) test the draft,” Momcilovic told Cyclone Alert in a conversation at the Big 12 Tournament in Kansas City. “Just because I think I’ve had a good year and shot the ball very well that I can.”
Momcilovic is considered a potential second-round pick after a 2025/26 season in which he averaged 16.9 and 3.1 rebounds while shooting an NCAA-best 48.7% on three-pointers (7.5 attempts) in 37 games (30.5 minutes per contest). He also shot 54.5% on twos and 87.8% on free throws.
“I don’t know what feedback we’ll get,” Momcilovic said. “We’ll see if I stay in or come back. That’s still to be determined.”
Momcilovic, who was named second-team All-Big 12, helped Iowa State go 29-8 this season. The No. 2 seed Cyclones, whose best player (Joshua Jefferson) was injured in the first game of the NCAA tournament, lost in the Sweet 16 to Tennessee.
As Busse notes, Momcilovic went No. 45 overall in the latest mock draft from Jeremy Woo of ESPN and undrafted in the most recent mocks from Sam Vecenie of The Athletic and Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report. The Wisconsin native is viewed as a top-tier shooter but there are question marks about how other aspects of his game will translate to the NBA.
UNC’s Caleb Wilson Declares For 2026 NBA Draft
UNC star Caleb Wilson has declared for the 2026 NBA draft, he announced on Instagram (hat tip to Lindsey Schnell of The Athletic).
Wilson, a 6’10” forward/center, is widely projected to be a top-five pick in the upcoming draft, which will occur in June.
A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Wilson appeared in 24 games as a freshman for the Tar Heels, averaging 19.8 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.4 blocks in 31.3 minutes per contest while shooting 57.8% from the field and 71.3% from the free throw line. He earned numerous accolades for his efforts, including a spot on the AP All-America Second Team.
While Wilson had a stellar season with North Carolina, he missed the team’s final 10 games due to injuries. He fractured his left hand last month and had been sidelined since February 10 — he had hoped to return at some point in March before he sustained a broken right thumb, which required surgery.
The Tar Heels went 19-5 with Wilson in the lineup in 2025/26, but just 5-5 without him, ending the season on a three-game losing streak, including a first-round loss in the NCAA tournament.
Many mock drafts and big boards have Wilson at No. 4 overall in what’s viewed as an exceptionally strong class. He’s reportedly expected to be cleared for basketball activities during the pre-draft process.
And-Ones: Expansion, Sweet 16, Coaches, All-Surprise Team
Although all 30 NBA governors voted this week to formally explore the possibility of expanding to Seattle and Las Vegas, there are at least two or three owners who have concerns about the financial aspect and aren’t thrilled by the idea of adding two new expansion teams, writes Howard Beck of The Ringer. According to Beck, there are also several front office executives who view expansion as being solely financially motivated and are skeptical about whether it’s a good idea from a basketball perspective.
“Is (expansion) good? I would say no,” one executive from a playoff team told Beck. “I look at some of these rosters and can say some teams have at least one, if not two, players that shouldn’t be in the NBA. There should be a concern about dilution of talent. The two new teams are going to be really bad for a while. Add to it that good players are staying in college for the paydays they are getting (via NIL), and there is even less talent available.”
As Beck notes within his story, the NBA’s decision to approve an “exploration” of expansion is something of a hedge, giving the league an out if the process doesn’t go as planned. For instance, while team owners would surely feel comfortable moving forward with expansion if it can extract fees in the $8-10 billion range for two new franchises, many of those same owners would be less enthusiastic if the bids topped out at, say, $5 billion.
Beck also wonders if the NBA might be willing to turn away from either Seattle or Las Vegas if a prospective ownership group from another city came through with a massive bid, given that the process appears to be driven by money. However, one executive he spoke to predicted that Seattle and Vegas would be “better markets than some we already have.”
We have more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- With the Sweet 16 games set to tip off in a matter of hours, Sam Vecenie of The Athletic shares his thoughts on how the NCAA tournament has impacted his perception of several of this year’s top draft prospects, Jonathan Wasserman of Bleacher Report updates his 2026 mock draft, and Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports and Brett Siegel of ClutchPoints each identify four players – one from each region – whom they’ll be watching on Thursday and Friday.
- Arguing that a single Coach of the Year award isn’t sufficient to recognize the exceptional performances in the NBA’s head coaching ranks, Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports introduces his “All-Coaching team,” headlined by J.B. Bickerstaff of the Pistons, Mitch Johnson of the Spurs, and Joe Mazzulla of the Celtics.
- Elsewhere on the made-up-award front, Fred Katz of The Athletic unveils the 10 players who made his All-Surprise first and second teams this season. The first team consists of Pistons center Jalen Duren, Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Cavaliers wing Jaylon Tyson, Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell, and Celtics center Neemias Queta.
Draft Notes: Peterson, Dybantsa, Mullins, Graves
With March Madness in full swing, NBA teams are starting to round out their evaluations of how prospects play in high-leverage situations. There have been plenty of talking points regarding the 2026 draft class, with few players commanding as much attention as Kansas’ Darryn Peterson.
Peterson came into this season as the presumed top player in the draft, but an inconsistent year and questions around his health and approach makes what was thought to be an iron-clad grip on a top-three pick a bit more of an open question, writes Kevin O’Connor for Yahoo Sports.
In addition to getting little offensive help from his teammates, especially from the perimeter, the 6’5″ shooting guard was limited by the hamstring injury that plagued him throughout the season, says O’Connor.
“I was hurt for the majority of the year,” Peterson said. “I went through some really bad stuff. I wasn’t really myself for real until like the end of the year.”
Besides his lethal shooting ability, Peterson brings a good defensive play-making skillset and is adept at drawing fouls, O’Connor adds.
The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie echoes O’Connor’s concerns about Peterson, writing that the Jayhawks guard could end up anywhere from one to five on his board. However, he adds that he has questions about the way the 19-year-old was used by Kansas coach Bill Self, which was mostly in an off-ball capacity.
We have more notes from the top of the 2026 draft:
- BYU forward AJ Dybantsa appears to have the most solid claim to the No. 1 spot at this time, writes ESPN’s Jeremy Woo. While the talented forward has faced some questions about his ball-handling and defense, his aggression and decision-making as a passer improved greatly throughout the season, Woo notes, as he established himself as a well-rounded 6’9″ scorer with major upside.
- UConn’s Braylon Mullins is looking more like someone who could be a top returner to school this season, according to Woo. The sweet-shooting guard’s season got off to a delayed start as he dealt with an ankle injury, and Woo says he never quite displayed the offensive consistency NBA teams might have been looking for. Vecenie adds that scouts are wondering if Mullins is more a good shooter than an elite shooter. He still has a chance to solidify his 2026 draft stock, but with NIL money and the allure of weaker competition around him in the 2027 draft class, returning to school could end up being a beneficial move long-term, Woo says.
- Allen Graves, from Santa Clara, was not expected to be a significant player in the 2026 draft, but he has impressed with his defense and passing, according to Woo. Graves may still be best served by spending another year in college and working on his jumper, but the 6’9″ forward has fans in the NBA and a strong pre-draft process could put him in position to be drafted this season, Woo notes.
Potential Lottery Pick Karim Lopez Declares For Draft
Potential lottery pick Karim Lopez has declared for this year’s draft, Jeremy Woo and Shams Charania of ESPN report.
Lopez is ranked No. 11 on ESPN’s big board. The Mexican forward has spent the past two seasons with the New Zealand Breakers in Australia’s National Basketball League. He’s the top-ranked international prospect on ESPN’s draft rankings and could become the first player born in Mexico to be selected in the first round.
“It’s been my dream and my goal my whole life to play in the NBA,” Lopez said. “Honestly, since I can remember. I was probably like 5 years old, making drawings of myself playing in the NBA. … It’s pretty special, you know, to be in this position right now.”
Lopez, who turns 19 next month, averaged 11.9 points and 6.1 rebounds in 25.6 minutes per game while shooting 49% from the field this season. The 6’9” forward set several records for draft-eligible NBL Next Stars, including the single-season points record with 358 in his 30 starts.
Lopez took a step forward in his second NBL season, including a 32-point game in a Jan. 30 win over Melbourne. NBA scouts have been drawn to Lopez’s combination of positional size, 7’1” wingspan, ball skills, play-making flashes and toughness, according to the ESPN duo.
“I want to show NBA teams who I am,” Lopez said. “Playing in a grown man league, it’s not easy. But there’s things I feel like people haven’t seen yet.”
Draft Notes: Dybantsa, Boozer, Pacers, Wilson, Guards, More
BYU’s NCAA tournament run ended early, with the West’s No. 6 seed knocked off by No. 11 Texas on Thursday. However, forward AJ Dybantsa did little to hurt his draft stock in the process, putting up 35 of his team’s 71 points in the losing effort.
According to Jake Fischer of The Stein Line (Substack link), Dybantsa may have entered this week as the frontrunner to be the No. 1 overall pick in June due to some concerns related to Kansas guard Darryn Peterson‘s health over the course of his freshman year with the Jayhawks and skepticism about whether Cameron Boozer‘s “athletic profile” will limit his ceiling at the NBA level.
Fischer clarifies that no one expects any sort of draft-night fall for Peterson or Boozer, who have widely been considered top-three prospects alongside Dybantsa for months. In fact, he says some rival teams believe Boozer would be the Pacers‘ top choice if they got the No. 1 pick due to his potential fit with their current personnel.
However, Fischer also suggests that there’s been momentum toward UNC’s Caleb Wilson joining that top tier of prospects, despite the fact that hand and thumb injuries prematurely ended the forward’s season. Wilson has drawn comparisons to players like Chris Bosh and Evan Mobley, and there’s no sense that his thumb surgery will impact his standing as a top-five lock, Fischer adds.
“I don’t think anyone is taking Wilson No. 1 overall,” one NBA general manager said. “But I think every team is going to have him above one of those other three guys.”
Here’s more from Fischer on the 2026 NBA draft:
- One Eastern Conference scout recently predicted that there might be “an entire lottery of freshmen” this June, according to Fischer, who adds that the draft class is considered especially heavy on backcourt talent. Some scouts view it as the strongest group of guards since 2018, when Luka Doncic, Trae Young, and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entered the league, while one executive compared it to a 2008 class that was headlined by Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook, Fischer writes.
- Illustrating the depth of the 2026 draft, Fischer notes that one veteran scout suggested that whichever team lands the No. 1 overall pick should seriously consider the idea of trading down to maximize the value of that selection. “There’s just too much opportunity to still get an All-Star caliber player and another future asset,” the scout said. According to Fischer, multiple executives have also expressed that there could be lottery-caliber prospects available in the 20s and a number of NBA-ready players available in the second round. “This might be a draft where more guys are getting guaranteed (NBA contracts) in the second round,” a Western Conference scout speculated.
- While the lottery will consist mostly of college freshmen, there are several “plug-and-play” upperclassmen who will appeal to teams later in the first round. Fischer identifies Iowa State forward Joshua Jefferson, Florida forward Thomas Haugh, Michigan center Aday Mara, Iowa guard Bennett Stirtz, and Texas wing Dailyn Swain as juniors and seniors frequently mentioned as intriguing targets in that range.
- Fischer also singles out Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner, Purdue guard Braden Smith, and Santa Clara forward Allen Graves as players who are “generating intrigue” among NBA evaluators, observing that Tanner and Graves in particular are analytics darlings.