Recently, Cameron Boozer made his dream of making the NBA come true after he was selected third by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2026 draft.
Coming from Duke, Boozer displayed a dominant one-and-done season, as he is one of the top prospects in this year's historic draft, where some people have him winning the Rookie of the Year award over his peers, AJ Dybantsa and Darryn Peterson, as well as making the All-Star Team in his first season .
However, before he made the league and kept his father's NBA legacy alive, Cameron's first purpose in life wasn't playing basketball.
Aside from his twin brother, Cayden, Cameron also has a third brother, Carmani, who is the oldest out of the three boys. When he was born as the first child in 2006, Carmani suffered from sickle cell anemia, a disease where the body produces an abundant number of red sickle-shaped blood cells, limiting oxygen and blood flow. At the time, the sickness didn't have a known cure, leaving Carlos and his wife, CeCe, devastated .
Still, there was one treatment that could save Carmani's life, which was a bone marrow transplant. But the process of getting there wasn't very smooth.
For the bone marrow transplant to work, Carmani needed a genetic match to generate sickle cell-free blood. Carlos and CeCe, however, were not a genetically needed match for their son. Instead, there was a high probability that a genetic match would come from a sibling.
Because the two had passed down the sickle cell trait to Carmani, meaning another child could end up in the same position, a difficult alternative had to be made. That alternative was IVF, a process where an egg is fertilized outside the body, followed by implantation of the embryo into the womb.
Of the 34 total eggs, 10 embryos were fertilized and sickle cell-free, as two of the 10 were a genetic match.
On July 18, 2007, Cameron and Cayden were born, and the rest is history.
"I was born for a purpose," Cameron said . "Cayden was born for a purpose. And Carmani still being here because of us, it is kind of like something that ties us together."
"I mean, they were only born because I was sick," said Carmani. "Pretty much. But they saved my life, that's what their comeback always is… Knowing that they're the reason I'm alive really makes me want to appreciate them more because they did so much for me. They saved my life."
Not only was Carmani safely cured and healthy, but he received two brothers by his side, a blessing that can't be compared to anything else.
Following their family's footsteps, all three brothers took on the life of an athlete. Instead of following in his father and two brothers' footsteps into basketball, Carmani pursued a career in baseball, where he last played for the University of Fort Lauderdale in 2025.
As Cameron heads to Memphis to begin his NBA career, the youngest brother, Cayden, has decided to return to Duke for his sophomore year, where he will prepare for a potential reunion with his twin in the league.
This story was originally published by Basketball Network on Jun 25, 2026, where it first appeared in the Off The Court section. Add Basketball Network as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
