Carlos Boozer Jr. was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a member of the 2008 U.S. men’s Olympic basketball team Saturday, Sept. 6, in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Boozer Jr. is a 1999 graduate of Juneau-Douglas: Yadaa.at Kale and won Class 4A state championships with the Crimson Bears in 1997 and 1998.
Boozer Jr.’s parents, Juneau residents Renee Boozer and Carlos Boozer Sr., went down to Massachusetts for the induction weekend.
“It means everything to him,” said Carlos Boozer Sr. of his son. “He’s still in awe every time I talk to him.
“Yesterday, he was telling me, ‘Dad, it’s unbelievable, you know?’ He said, ‘Look at me, I’m in the Hall of Fame.’ I said, ‘You know you’re in the Hall of Fame. Believe it’s true.’”
Boozer Sr. said his son had been to the Hall of Fame many times, but this was the first time for Boozer Sr.
“It was the best thing in the world,” he said. “For me, I met so many people that are part of the Hall of Fame, and a lot of people that have to do with NBA basketball that we already knew.
“What more can a father ask for? I mean, it was great to see our son get inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
Boozer Jr. was born at a military base in Aschaffenburg, West Germany. The family came to Juneau in 1988.
At Juneau-Douglas, Boozer was a two-time Parade All-American, a McDonald’s High School All-American and three-time state player of the year.
One of the full-circle moments for Carlos Sr. at the induction ceremony came when he found out he was staying at the same hotel with Mike Krzyzewski.
Krzyzewski was the head coach at Duke from 1980 to 2022 and has the most wins in NCAA Division I men’s history.
He also coached the 2008 Olympic men’s team.
“Coach K actually came to our house in Juneau, along with just about every coach in America,” Boozer Sr. said.
Krzyzewski told Boozer Jr. that he would have to come in and earn his spot, but if he was focused, he could do great things. Boozer Sr. said that message was attractive to his son.
The coach also said Duke is one of the best educational institutions in America. Krzyzewski added he wanted all his players to graduate, which Boozer Jr. did in 2020.
“So Coach K took us from Juneau,” Boozer Sr. said. “Look where we are now.”
At dinner, Krzyzewski told Boozer Sr. that the coach and Boozer Jr. are now friends.
“He was saying how smart he is and that he’s a very intelligent young man,” Boozer Sr. said. “This came out of Coach K’s mouth.
“So for me to hear something like that meant a lot.”
Krzyzewski also had gotten to know Boozer Jr.’s twin sons, Cayden Boozer and Cameron Boozer, who will play for Duke this season and are both NBA draft prospects.
“He was talking about my grandsons, how good of young men they were,” Boozer Sr. said. “They’re grounded, down to earth, and they play really good basketball.”
Krzyzewski and Boozer Jr. won a national title at 2001 at Duke, one of five for Krzyzewski. Boozer Jr. would turn pro after his junior season in 2002 and play in the NBA until 2015.
He earned two All-Star nods and averaged 16.2 points per game, 9.5 rebounds per game and shot 52.1% from the floor for his career.
Boozer Jr.’s spot in the Hall of Fame came from his role in putting the United States back on top of the basketball world.
NBA players started going to the Olympics with the “Dream Team” in 1992, and the United States won gold in 1992, 1996 and 2000.
In 2004, Boozer Jr. was on the team that took the bronze medal in Athens. Team USA also was sixth at the FIBA World Championships in 2002 and third at worlds in 2006.
After 2004, Jerry Colangelo took over as Team USA director and started building toward the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Boozer Jr., LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Carmelo Anthony were all part of the 2004 team and signed up to change things in 2008.
The “Redeem Team” went undefeated and won their games by an average of 27.9 points.
Team USA has stayed on top since then, winning gold in London, Rio de Janeiro, Tokyo and Paris.
The 2008 team also included Jason Kidd, Deron Williams, Michael Redd, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Chris Bosh, Chris Paul and Tayshaun Prince.
All were at the ceremony, except for Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash in 2020. Bryant joined the “Redeem Team” in the summer of 2007 and his absence was felt at the ceremony.
Colangelo and Krzyzewski, plus assistants Jim Boeheim and Mike D’Antoni, joined the team onstage. Assistant Nate McMillan was not able to attend.
“That’s a special group, and everybody doesn’t make it that far,” Boozer Sr. said. “For Carlos to do that, it’s just wonderful.”
Anthony and Howard also went into the Hall of Fame on Saturday as players, as did Sue Bird, Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles.
Referee Danny Crawford, coach Billy Donovan and Miami Heat owner Micky Arison completed the class.
Boozer Sr. said it was a big night for Juneau and for Alaska. He said areas like New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Detroit regularly produce Hall of Famers, but not Alaska.
This summer, 2019 Dimond graduate Alissa Pili had her jersey from the University of Utah hung in the opportunity gallery at the Hall of Fame for being an icon to the Indigenous community.
“It’s just nice that Alaska will have a chance to honor one of their own,” Boozer Sr. said. “That means not only a lot to me, but I think to the whole state of Alaska, to have somebody that’s inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame.”
Boozer Sr. and Renee moved to the Lower 48 to follow their son’s career, starting when he was at Duke. The couple moved back to Juneau a few years ago.
“Well, everybody’s grown up and we missed Juneau,” Boozer Sr. said. “We came back and decided to live here the rest of our lives.”
Boozer Jr. has regularly had a basketball camp in Juneau since he went to the NBA, sometimes bringing NBA players with him. He just had a camp in August.
“My advice is, the first couple of weeks in August, anybody in Kenai and Anchorage and Fairbanks should look to come down and maybe get an autograph from an NBA All-Star and an inductee in the Hall of Fame,” Boozer Sr. said.
