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Fans have gotten into a frenzy of debate after an Instagram post, shared on Thursday by Recruits News, listed Cameron Boozer as the best 17-year-old basketball player, ahead of AJ Dybantsa. The ranking, originally released by ESPN on Dec. 30, highlighted the best players from each age group, ranging from 14 to 40 years old, across the NBA, college and high school levels. The post by Recruits News, however, only highlighted the best from age groups 19 to 14.
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The fact that the ranking places Boozer ahead of Dybantsa in the 17-year-old category has sparked heated debates about which player deserves the top spot. Some fans thought that Cameron Boozer did not deserve the top spot, as they considered AJ to be the better player:
"Boozer is absolutely not better than Dybantsa," one fan said
"A.J Dybantsa better than Boozer all day," said another
"Boozer over AJ is Crazy 😭😭," another said
Some fans even went as far as saying that AJ Dybantsa is better than all the top players in the age groups mentioned in the post:
"AJ BETTER THAN ALL OF THEM YALL TRIPPING," one fan said.
"Lol. AJ better than everyone on the list man," another said
According to the post, Baylor's VJ Edgecombe was listed as the best 19-year-old, and Duke freshman Cooper Flagg was listed as the best 18-year-old, while Baba Oladotun, CJ Rosser and JJ Crawford were listed as the best 16, 15 and 14-year-olds, respectively. Some fans also disagree with these rankings:
"Kentrell King II can make a case for being the best 14 yr older," one fan said.
"Baba over Jason Crowe🤣," one fan wrote.
"Dylan is better than Coop," said another
"J2 is the best 16 yr old," another said.
Cameron Boozer vs. AJ Dybantsa: Who's the better player?
Undoubtedly, Dybantsa and Boozer are top basketball prospects, ranked No. 1 and 2, respectively. Cameron Boozer, who has featured in 90 games for Columbus (Miami, FL), averages 20.7 points, 11.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals per game. The Duke signee was named Gatorade National Player of the Year in 2023, as well as Florida Mr. Basketball and Mr. Basketball USA.
Internationally, Boozer won gold with US under-16 and under-17 teams, winning the FIBA Under-16 Americas Championship and FIBA U17 World Cup, respectively. He was also crowned MVP of these two tournaments.
AJ Dybantsa also participated in these two international tournaments alongside Cameron. He also has several awards, including the Massachusetts Boys' Basketball Gatorade Player of the Year, which he won after averaging 19.1 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.9 assists in his freshman season. While still a high school athlete, he is already projected to be the No. 1 pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
