Scheduled
Charlotte Hornets at Washington Wizards
2026-27 · Regular season · Emirates NBA Cup
Cameron Boozer, shooting 27.9% coming in, gets his first triple-double as the Grizzlies go 5-0: ‘We’ve got 77 more’
The 19-year-old No. 3 pick had 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 12 rebounds and 12 assists in Portland, the second-youngest triple-double in NBA history, in his fifth game. Ja Morant left his first game against Memphis with a hamstring injury.
In this article
Cameron Boozer came into Thursday night shooting 27.9% from the field in his first four NBA games. He left Portland with 18 points on 6-of-10 shooting, 12 rebounds, 12 assists and the first triple-double of his career, as the Memphis Grizzlies beat the Portland Trail Blazers 124-103 to stay unbeaten at 5-0.
At 19 years and 103 days old, the No. 3 pick in the 2026 draft became the second-youngest player in NBA history to record a triple-double. He is also the youngest to do it in a win, and the youngest frontcourt player to do it at all.
Boozer was not interested in making much of it. “I mean, it’s nice. You know, I’m gonna keep going,” he said on the court after the game. “The season just started. We’ve got 77 more, so a lot more to come.”
Boozer after the win, posted by the Grizzlies on X.
Twenty days short of Giddey
Only Josh Giddey was younger. He was 19 years and 84 days old when he had 17 points, 13 rebounds and 14 assists for Oklahoma City against Dallas on Jan. 2, 2022, in a loss. The previous youngest frontcourt player with a triple-double was Victor Wembanyama, who was 20 years and 6 days old when he had 16 points, 12 rebounds and 10 assists in a win at Detroit on Jan. 10, 2024.
Boozer, who is the youngest player in the league this season, did it in his fifth NBA game. The only other players with a triple-double in five or fewer career games are Oscar Robertson in 1960, Art Williams in 1967 and Ben Simmons in 2017.
From 2-of-15 to 6-of-10
The start of Boozer’s season had been rough with the ball. He went 2-of-15 in the opener against Utah, 5-of-21 at Sacramento and 4-of-12 at Utah, and he was 7-of-27 from three through four games. He was still averaging 10.5 rebounds, tied for sixth in the league, and he had a 25-point, 13-rebound game at Golden State.
Against Portland he made 4 of his 5 threes, went 2-of-2 at the line and had two turnovers in 28 minutes. His 12 assists doubled his previous career high of six. Memphis outscored Portland by 20 points with him on the floor.
Through five games he is averaging 15.4 points, 10.8 rebounds and 6.2 assists, shooting 32.4% from the field and 34.4% from three.
Coach Tuomas Iisalo joked about the timing after the game. “It took him long enough,” Iisalo said. “It was his fifth game already.”
‘A hard trio to stay in front of’
The game was tied 58-58 at halftime, and the lead changed hands 10 times. Memphis took over in the third quarter with a 12-2 run and a 12-3 burst, led 91-83 after three and won the fourth quarter 33-20.
“I mean, we started to get stops. You know, they’re a hard team to guard,” Boozer said. “Ja, Dame, Deni, that’s a hard trio to stay in front of, but at the end of the day, toughness, rebounding, and we got some stops. We looked at size too. Stew got us going, Zach got us going. So it’s a lot of fun. Great win. 5-0. Off to the next.”
Isaiah Stewart scored 18 off the bench on 7-of-10 shooting, Cedric Coward had 17 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals, and Zach Edey added 13, including a three. Cam Spencer had eight points and eight assists and was plus-21 in 23 minutes.
“We’ve got a deep team, and I think our bench unit can go toe to toe with anyone, anyone else’s bench unit,” Boozer said. “So we’ve got a team with a lot of grit, a lot of toughness. So it’s a lot of fun to compete with these guys.”
Morant’s first game against Memphis
It was Ja Morant‘s first game against the team he played for over his first seven seasons. He had 14 points and three assists in 23 minutes before leaving in the fourth quarter with a left hamstring injury and did not return. Blazers coach Micah Nori said Morant felt a twinge and that he hoped to know more on Friday. “I’m hoping that it’s nothing major, obviously,” Nori said.
Deni Avdija led Portland with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. The Blazers, who started 3-0, took their first loss.
Back home at 5-0
It is the second 5-0 start in Grizzlies history and the first since 2014-15, and Memphis went 4-0 on a road trip that ran through Golden State, Sacramento, Utah and Portland. Boozer said last season was rough for the franchise, even though he was not part of it.
“Obviously last year was rough. I wasn’t here, but to start the season 5-0 is a lot of fun,” he said. “The future’s bright. Just keep competing, keep winning games and just give our fans something to root for.”
The Grizzlies host the winless Sacramento Kings on Saturday at 8 p.m. ET, which is 2 a.m. Sunday in Cairo.
Join the discussion
0 commentsTalk basketball. Keep it respectful. You can use a name or stay Anonymous. Comments publish immediately.
Be the first to start the conversation.