The story of Cameron Boozer begins before he was born — and it begins with someone else’s survival.
On May 31, 2006, Carlos Boozer and his wife CeCe received the diagnosis that would reshape their family. Their firstborn son, Carmani, had sickle cell disease. Carlos had just signed a six-year, $70 million contract with the Utah Jazz. He was a two-time NBA All-Star, a Duke championship hero, a man who had grown up in Juneau, Alaska. None of it mattered. His son was sick.
Sickle cell disease is a genetic blood disorder in which red blood cells become rigid and crescent-shaped, blocking blood flow and causing episodes of extreme pain, organ damage, and potentially death. Both Carlos and CeCe carried the sickle cell trait. Their best hope was a bone marrow transplant from a sibling’s umbilical cord blood. But they couldn’t simply conceive and hope — if their next child also carried the disease, it would mean two sick children. They needed a child who was both free of sickle cell and a perfect bone marrow match.
Carlos and CeCe chose in-vitro fertilization. Doctors harvested 34 eggs from CeCe. Ten became viable embryos. Only two were both sickle-cell-free and perfect bone marrow matches. Both were implanted. Both survived. On July 18, 2007, in Salt Lake City, Cameron Sikandar Boozer and his fraternal twin brother Cayden were born. They began their lives saving the life of their brother.
Three weeks later, stem cells from the twins’ umbilical cords were transplanted into Carmani at Miami Children’s Hospital. Forty nights in the hospital. It worked. Carmani was cured. ESPN documented the story in 2008 and returned in 2024 for Blood Brothers.
Cameron grew up in Miami. His parents divorced in 2015 but both remained present. CeCe had met Carlos when she was at NC State and Carlos was at Duke. She was 5-10, a D-I volleyball player. Carlos was 6-9, a two-time All-Star, Olympic gold medalist. At fourteen, the twins looked like they’d been built in a basketball lab. Carlos said the light bulb went on in junior high. CeCe said she knew by the eighth grade.
At Christopher Columbus High School: Cameron was the 6-9 power forward, Cayden the 6-4 point guard who knew where his brother wanted the ball before Cameron did. Sophomore year: 21.1 PPG/11.3 RPG/4.2 APG/2.0 BPG, state championship. Four consecutive Florida state titles. 2025 Chipotle Nationals crown. Cameron was named Gatorade National POY as a sophomore (2023) and again as a senior (2025). Mr. Basketball USA in 2023 and 2025 — the first player to win it twice since LeBron James. FIBA U16 Americas MVP (2023, leading USA to gold by 82 over Canada). FIBA U17 World Cup MVP (2024). The most fundamentally sound player in high school basketball.
The commitment came October 11, 2024. Cameron and Cayden chose Duke together, over Miami and Florida. The video featured Carmani — the brother whose life they’d saved. Carlos told ESPN: ‘I’m proud of them. They’ve worked their butts off.’ Then he shared what defines how far the family has come: ‘Hey, Mr. Boozer, you’re Cameron and Cayden’s dad? I get that all the time now.’ The two-time All-Star is now recognized for what his children are becoming. And he loves it.