June 5, 2026, 1:30 p.m. ET
Duke’s Cameron Boozer and UNC’s Henri Veesaar were key players in the 2025-26 edition of college basketball’s most historic rivalry.A recent 2026 NBA mock draft projects both Boozer and Veesaar could be drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies.Boozer is projected as the No. 3 overall pick, while Veesaar is projected at No. 32.Analysts’ draft projections for Veesaar have varied widely, ranging from a top-20 pick to the mid-second round.
The Duke Blue Devils and North Carolina Tar Heels have one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports, dating back over 100 years. This year, Duke star Cameron Boozer and UNC standout Henri Veesaar were at the forefront of the rivalry, competing against one another around the rim.
In two games against Duke this past season, Veesaar averaged 12 points, 10 rebounds and one block. On the other side, Boozer averaged 23.5 points, 13 rebounds and four assists for the Blue Devils against UNC.
With the 2026 NBA Draft on the horizon, there’s a chance that the two former rivals could find themselves as teammates next year. In a recent NBA mock draft conducted by Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports, he has the Memphis Grizzlies drafting Boozer with the No. 3 overall pick and Veesaar with the No. 32 overall selection.
Based on fit alone, Memphis selecting two dominant frontcourt forces may seem unlikely, but the Grizzlies currently roster only one center (Zach Edey). Although many mock drafts have Veesaar as a first-round selection, to O’Connor’s point, basketball analysts have been all over the place in their evaluation of Veesaar, with the Estonian center ranging from as high as No. 20 overall to as low as No. 44 in various mock drafts.
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