Carlos Boozer shares his dad advice to Duke-commits Cameron, twin Cayden

Duke Blue Devils and NBA legend Carlos Boozer is ready to pass the torch.

During the 2025 NCAA Men’s Final Four, the former NBA power forward -- who had outstanding runs with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers in his NBA career -- paid a visit to San Antonio as part of AT&T’s Guarantee campaign to connect athletes with fans, where he sat down with The Athlete Lifestyle On SI.

Carlos was also there to cheer on his alma mater Duke, where he won a title in 2001 with Jason Williams and Mike Dunleavy Jr. Unfortunately, he witnessed the colossal collapse of his squad to the Houston Cougars, 67-70, in a game that will be forever remembered, especially for presumptive No. 1 NBA pick Cooper Flagg.

There to get that bitter taste out next year will be Carlos’s twin sons, Cameron and Cayden Boozer, who are both highly-touted coming from Christopher Columbus High School in Westchester, Florida. Cameron is a consensus 5-star recruit, Gatorade National Player of the Year, and the No. 2 overall recruit according to ESPN. Cayden is no slouch either as a fellow 5-star recruit and McDonald's All-American.

TAL caught up with Carlos ahead of the NCAA Championship game, which saw the Florida Gators beat the Cougars 65-63. During his time in Texas, he was grateful to meet with generations of fans and share his vision for the future of the basketball landscape.

Hi Carlos! Are you having a good time in Texas?

I've had a really good weekend. It would have been phenomenal if Duke was playing [in the championships], but it's still been a great weekend.

I saw you on your Instagram Story that you went golfing this weekend.

I try to take my sticks everywhere I go. We went to a place called Briggs Ranch. It was outstanding! If you play golf and you get to San Antonio, go to Briggs Ranch. It was unbelievable. They treated us like we own the place. It was awesome.

Your sons have committed to Duke. How do you feel about the Boozer legacy carrying on at your alma mater?

I’m just so proud of them. They've worked their butts off in high school. They’re excellent students and just great human beings. And for them to get a chance to go to Duke, I'm just really proud of them. I think it's an incredible institution, a great place to learn and figure out who you are as a young person. And obviously, the basketball is unbelievable. Being a Duke Blue Devil, the brotherhood rings deep for the rest of your life, but when you get on campus, you see it's a very special place. So I'm super proud that my boys are going to my alma mater, and soon, it'll be their alma mater.

I know Cam and Cayden are fraternal twins, but has there ever been a time when they used their twin powers to troll you?

Sometimes! They are very witty. I remember, there was a game where I played in Dallas, and I got an and one where I made a basket, and I was about to shoot a free throw, and I'm celebrating, and I threw an air punch, and I ended up punching a referee. They troll me about that all the time.

What would you say is the ultimate college life hack?

To me, it’s figuring out early how to balance your social life and your academic life. I think I struggled with that my freshman year, because I was away from my parents for the first time. I was on campus and I was just like ‘Oh my God, I have freedom.’ But you’ve got to figure out a way to balance basketball, academics, and just being a college kid when you want to experience some of that stuff. If you can find the balance, you can really enjoy it to the fullest. You want to do a little bit of hanging out, a lot of studying. Of course, if you don't read the books, you're not gonna pass. And obviously, their goals are being in the NBA one day, so they’ve got to spend a lot of quality time on the court, working on their game. But if they can find the balance, that's a life hack.

You played for several teams throughout your career. Which team did you feel had the strongest impact on your career and why?

Man, all of them. There are so many guys who put their name in the NBA draft that never hear their name get called. I was very fortunate to get drafted. So the Cavaliers gave me my start to the NBA, and then going to Utah was just incredible, because Jerry Sloan and that organization gave me a chance to become a star in the NBA, where I made the All-Star team twice and won a gold medal. And then playing in Chicago, I thought was probably our best chance to win a championship with Derrick Rose and the rest of that group. I know we fell short, but it was awesome playing for the Bulls, which is the team that I idolized growing up with Michael Jordan. And then, getting the chance to play with my big brother Kobe [Bryant] to end my career in LA meant so much to my growth as a player.

Over the past few days, you’ve been able to interact with fans through these activations with the NCAA Championships and Final Four and AT&T’s Guarantee campaign. Why do you feel it's vital that the fans get these in-person connections?

They never get a chance to see us in person. They're watching us from social media. They're watching us from TV, and this is a chance to really connect. I'm glad that AT&T brings us here so we can do that — Get a chance to tell our stories, and get a chance to see some of the people who've been supporting us throughout the years. Today, I met a person who's watched every single one of my games since I got to Duke, and that was in 1999, like 26 years ago. He's watched every single one of my games since then. 26 something years later, he got a chance to actually meet me in person. I just think it's amazing that AT&T is giving fans a chance to meet some people that they've been supporting for a long time.

We are coming up on 10 years since your final NBA game. Looking back over the past decade, what do you think has changed within the NBA landscape?

So much. The game is so different. You have basically positionless basketball. You’ve got centers doing what guards can do. You’ve got guards doing what centers can do. Everybody's so skilled. They can all shoot threes, they can all get to the basket. There are more possessions, and the game is being played faster. It’s less physical. It was very physical in my days, and it’s not as physical it was, but it's still fun to watch.

There are many stars, and I'm really enjoying watching Nikola Jokic in Denver dominate the NBA. I see Luka Doncic just doing a hell of a job making his impact and Jayson Tatum getting a championship in Boston. There are so many storylines. Ant Edwards is one of the rising stars. I want to see where Wemby goes in the next two or three years. Hopefully, my kids get to play with all these guys in a year or two. I'm looking forward to the future of the NBA.

After a run with the Guangdong Southern Tigers, you announced your retirement from basketball in 2017. What has been the biggest thing you’ve learned in your eight years since retirement?

I think the biggest thing for me was just being able to spend quality time with my family. At the time, my mom was battling breast cancer, — by the way, she's nine years removed from that and doing great — so that was a big factor. But also, just being able to be around for my kids. I think basketball was such a blessing for me, and it's taken me around the world. Unfortunately, the other side of that coin is I've missed a lot of moments with my kids when they were younger and playing basketball. When I retired, I was able to be at every game, be at the school, pick them up and drop them off at practices, and I had a chance to hang out with my children more.

What is something you want for your sons to carry with them as they enter this next phase of life?

I just want them to be themselves. I think we live in an era where so many people, so many people try to emulate somebody else, or try to be somebody that they're not. I just want my kids to be true to who they are inside and to do things their way.

Boozer Twins — Mar 31, 2025: McDonald’s All-Americans Cameron Boozer, left, and Cayden Boozer, right, sit on the court during the Sprite Jam Fest at Barclay's Center. | Pamela Smith-Imagn Images