You don’t lose an Elite Eight game the way Duke just did — getting an inbound pass stolen to then surrender a last-second 3-point shot — off one person’s mistake alone. No, no. This sort of predicament is a group effort, across the board.
Still, it’s always notable when particularly high-profile athletes are involved in a brutal game-losing/season-ending blunder for their team. In this sequence, it was Duke power forward Cameron Boozer, who is projected to go No. 1 overall in the 2026 NBA Draft by USA Today’s Bryan Kalbrosky in his latest mock draft.
You see, Boozer was one of the Duke players who actually caught the ball clean while protecting its late two-point lead. And like the other Duke players who caught the ball clean while protecting a two-point lead, Boozer passed the ball for no reason rather than simply absorbing a foul to get to the free throw line and ice away the victory. Ironically, Boozer passed to his twin brother, Cayden, who made the fateful turnover that led to Braylon Mullins’ iconic game-winner. And there you had, dearest readers, an instant classic. Phew.
Again, Cam wasn’t the only one here, but just … that could’ve been avoided.
Given his talent, Boozer will likely go on to enjoy a great NBA career. He certainly looks the part of a star player. But this sequence for Duke will probably hunt him for a while before then. Understandably so.
Folks piled on Boozer for playing a role in Duke’s all-time mistake:
