Duke's Cameron Boozer Sweeps National Player of the Year. Here's Why He Was Never Really Threatened.

Cameron Boozer is winning every major Player of the Year award, and honestly, there was never much suspense about it. The Duke freshman was the runaway favorite from Thanksgiving onward, and by the time the NCAA Tournament rolled around, the race was already over. He's that good.

What makes this wild is that Boozer won't even be on the court to collect his hardware in person at the Final Four in Indianapolis. But that doesn't diminish what he accomplished this season. From his first game against Texas all the way through the Elite Eight matchup with UConn, Boozer was the most consistent player in college basketball. Period.

Boozer Is Joining Some Incredibly Exclusive Company

This is the second straight year Duke has had a freshman win CBS Sports National Player of the Year. Last season, Cooper Flagg took home the same award after one of the best one-and-done seasons in college basketball history. Now Boozer has matched that production and claimed his own NPOY honors.

By winning this award, Boozer becomes the 11th Duke player to earn national player of the year. Duke claims more national players of the year than any school in the country. Coach Jon Scheyer is now the first coach ever to have back-to-back freshmen players of the year. Boozer joins Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, Zion Williamson, and Flagg as the only freshmen to earn the honor.

The Flagg-Boozer combo is historic in another way too. They're the first time since Shane Battier and Jay Williams won in 2001 and 2002 that the same school had different players win NPOY honors in consecutive seasons. St. John's did it with Chris Mullin and Walter Berry in 1985 and '86. UCLA matched it with Sidney Wicks and Bill Walton in 1971 and '72. That's it. Just four instances in men's college basketball history.

What Made Him So Special

Statistically, Boozer put up numbers as good as Flagg did last season. But what separated him was his passing and basketball IQ. Post players who can run an entire offense are rare. Boozer did it while staying calm and making the right reads operating in the paint.

He also used his size to overpower defenders on the scoring end, which kept him getting to the free-throw line consistently. The son of former NBA star Carlos Boozer, he's a projected top-three pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. And based on this season, that projection might even be conservative.

Arizona's Tommy Lloyd earned Coach of the Year honors from CBS Sports, while Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg captured Transfer of the Year. But this Boozer season? That's the story everyone's talking about.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.