Background and career
Carlos Austin Boozer Jr. (born November 20, 1981) is an American former professional basketball player. A two-time NBA All-Star, he played for the Cleveland Cavaliers, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Lakers, and then spent his last season playing overseas with the Guangdong Southern Tigers. As a member of Team USA, Boozer won an Olympic bronze medal at the 2004 Summer Olympics and an Olympic gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Although born at a military base in Aschaffenburg, West Germany, Boozer grew up in Juneau, Alaska, from 1988 to 1999. His family relocated to Juneau from Washington, D.C., following the fatal shooting of his seven-year-old friend after a neighborhood pickup basketball game. In his memoir, Boozer recounted that his friend died in his arms, an event that prompted his parents to seek a safer, quieter environment for their children. He was one of five children of Carlos and Renee, each of whom worked two jobs as he grew up.
Boozer was a two-time member of the PARADE All-American high school basketball team, leading the Juneau-Douglas Crimson Bears to back-to-back state titles. In 2023, he was inducted into the National High School Hall of Fame. Boozer was recruited by many top-tier collegiate basketball programs, including St. John's and UCLA, but Boozer elected to play for Duke University, coached by Mike Krzyzewski, and helped the team win the 2001 NCAA championship. In 2001–02, Boozer, Jason Williams, and Mike Dunleavy Jr. each scored at least 600 points for the season, a feat only matched at Duke by Jon Scheyer, Kyle Singler and Nolan Smith in the 2009–10 season. Boozer won the 2002 ACC Tournament MVP. In April 2002, Boozer declared for the NBA draft, foregoing his final year of college eligibility. On September 16, 2020, Boozer graduated with a bachelor's degree from the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences at Duke University.
Boozer was selected with the 35th overall pick in the 2002 NBA draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Boozer averaged 10.0 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in his rookie campaign, and followed it up with 15.5 points and 11.4 rebounds per game his second year.
After the 2003–04 season, the Cavaliers had the option of allowing him to become a restricted free agent, or keeping him under contract for one more year at a $695,000 salary. The Cavaliers claimed to have reached an understanding with Boozer and his agent on a deal for approximately $39 million over six years, which he would have signed if they let him out of his current deal. Cleveland then proceeded to release him from his contract making him a restricted free agent. During this period, the Utah Jazz offered Boozer a six-year, $70 million contract that Cleveland chose not to match due to salary cap considerations. On July 30, 2004, Boozer officially signed with the Jazz. Then Cavaliers owner Gordon Gund said, "In the final analysis, I decided to trust Carlos and show him the respect he asked for. He did not show that trust and respect in return." However, Boozer denied that he made any commitment to the Cavaliers: "There was no commitment. It's unfortunate how the turn of events went through the media", Boozer said shortly after signing the deal with Utah. "I'm not a guy that gives my word and takes it away. I think I've made that clear." Boozer later claimed that he originally intended to re-sign with the Cavaliers, but he and his team subsequently found out that his negotiations with the Cavaliers may lead to a tampering violation investigation from the NBA and severe penalty for the Cavaliers if he signed, causing him to come to the conclusion he had to move on, against his original intentions.
In his first season with the Jazz in 2004–05, Boozer averaged 17 points and 9 rebounds per game. However, he suffered an injury, missing the later part of the season, which contributed to the Jazz missing the playoffs for only the second time in 22 years, and he was publicly criticized for a lack of effort by team owner Larry Miller. As the 2005–06 season began, Boozer was still recovering from injury, and then aggravated a hamstring, causing him to miss the first half of that season as well. He returned to action in late February, easing into action by coming off the bench for the Jazz. In the middle of March, he was placed back into the starting lineup. From that point, he finished the season in impressive fashion, averaging over 20 points and almost 10 rebounds per game and firmly establishing himself as the Jazz's starting power forward once again. Boozer got off to a strong start in the 2006–07 season, winning the Western Conference Player of the Week Award and helping the Jazz to win eleven of their first twelve games. Boozer was named part of the NBA All-Star roster as a reserve, but could not participate because of a hairline fracture in his left fibula. In an April 23, 2007 game against the Houston Rockets (game two of the first round of the 2007 playoffs), Boozer scored 41 points, tying the career high he had set a month earlier on March 26 (vs. the Washington Wizards). He also led the Jazz past the Rockets in game 7 of the first round in the NBA Playoffs, scoring 35 points, grabbing 14 rebounds and two clutch free throws to secure the victory in Boozer's first playoff series. The Jazz would go on to win their second round series against the upstart Golden State Warriors, 4 games to 1, and advance to the Western Conference Finals for the first time since 1998. Even though they lost 4 games to 1 to the more experienced San Antonio Spurs, Boozer proved valuable and durable. He ended the season averaging 20.9 points and 11.7 rebounds per game, and playing in 74 of 82 games. He was even better in the playoffs, increasing his output to 23.5 points and 12.2 rebounds per game, and appearing in all 17 Jazz playoff games. In November 2007, Boozer was named Western Conference Player of the Month. By mid-December, he was among the league's top five performers in scoring, rebounding and field goal percentage. Although he later slipped in all of these categories, he continued to produce solid numbers. Boozer was again chosen as a backup in the All-Star Game, finishing with 14 points and 10 rebounds in just 19 minutes of play. He registered his first career triple-double against the Seattle SuperSonics on February 13, 2008, with 22 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists. In the 2008 playoffs, the Jazz faced the Houston Rockets in the first round for the second year in a row. Determined to not allow him to beat them, the Rockets geared their defense more to stopping Boozer and his production was somewhat limited (16.0 points and 11.7 rebounds per game), but the Jazz defeated the Rockets, 4–2. In the second round of the 2008 playoffs, the Jazz lost to the top seeded Los Angeles Lakers in six games.
