Who Are Cameron Boozer’s Parents And Siblings? Meet The Family Behind The Memphis Grizzlies Rookie

The Boozer brothers with their family© Instagram/@carlosboozer

Cameron Boozer has had his family close from the start, and the story goes back to before he was born. The Memphis Grizzlies rookie, who recorded a triple-double in just his fifth NBA game, is the son of former NBA All-Star Carlos Boozer and his ex-wife CeCe. He has an older brother, Carmani, a twin brother, Cayden, and a half-sister. Both parents were with him when he was picked third in June, and the family's journey is a big part of his rise.

Cameron Boozer's parents: Carlos and CeCe

Carlos Boozer played 13 years in the NBA for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers, and he was a two-time All-Star. He also won Olympic bronze in 2004 and gold in 2008. Before that, he played at Duke from 1999 to 2002 and won the 2001 national title, the same school his sons later chose. Cameron was born in Salt Lake City while his father was with the Jazz.

CeCe and Carlos met at Duke. Carlos has said she spotted him in a bookstore when he was a 17-year-old freshman and she was a 20-year-old senior, and she found him in the student directory and asked him to dinner. They divorced in 2015, but both still turn up for their sons. Carlos has missed hardly any of the twins' games, according to Cayden.

CeCe played Division I volleyball and now runs an assisted living facility she started to care for her own mother. She has since opened smaller homes for people with disabilities. On draft night, she said it was “faith over fear” that got the family through hard times, and ESPN said she drove Cameron to every practice and tournament.

Brothers Carmani and Cayden, and a baby sister

The twins exist for a reason. Their older brother Carmani, born in May 2006, was diagnosed with sickle cell anemia before birth. His best chance at a cure was a bone marrow transplant using stem cells from a sibling's umbilical cord, so CeCe became pregnant through IVF and had Cayden and Cameron on July 18, 2007. The transplant took 40 days in hospital, with Carlos on the night shift so he could train by day, and it was a success. Carlos has said the diagnosis felt like their “whole universe was crumbling.”

Cayden is Cameron's fraternal twin and teammate, and the two went to Duke together after turning down Miami. Carlos also has a daughter, Bloom, born in April 2019.

Carlos says his sons “earned everything they've ever gotten”, and Cayden says their father never pushed them into basketball. Carlos, CeCe, Cayden, Carmani and Cameron's girlfriend, Yva Lauren Cao, all sat with him on draft night. “It's my moment, but it's our moment,” Cameron said.