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NEW YORK — For the first time in its history, the NBA turned its annual draft into a two-day affair this year. Prospects selected in the first round had the opportunity to shake NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s hand at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on Wednesday night. Meanwhile, prospects selected in the second round had the opportunity to shake deputy commissioner Mark Tatum’s hand at ESPN’s South Street Seaport studios the next day.
Ten prospects came to the Seaport and sat in the green room, not including the headliner, Bronny James, who declined an invitation. One of them, Oso Ighodaro, a center out of Marquette, had been particularly busy for the past few days, as he had a last-minute workout in Brooklyn.
“I got to New York, worked out for the Nets and then came and did all the media stuff the day before [the first round],” Ighodaro, who was selected No. 40 and will join his hometown Phoenix Suns, said. “Wednesday, did more media, got to the draft and was there until almost 11, 11:30. And then did it all again today. Got ready, came here and they had this event for us.”
Harrison Ingram, a wing out of North Carolina, and Jaylen Wells, a wing out of Washington State, had also gone gone to Barclays on Wednesday. Ingram said he’d decided to attend regardless of his draft stock because he’s an NBA fan and had never been to the event in person. Wells said that “my mom, my little cousin, my dad, [my agent], my aunt [and] my other cousin” had all accompanied him on both days. After the first 30 picks were made, they went “back to the hotel,” Wells said. “We were exhausted. We got some food and went straight to sleep.”
Wells, who was selected No. 39 by the Memphis Grizzlies, brought two suits with him, so he could wear something different if he went undrafted on Wednesday. “And then I was like, ‘I just love this one so much,’ so I was like, ‘I gotta wear it again,'” he said. Ingram kept most of his outfit the same for Round 2, but decided that his Round 1 socks were unlucky.
“Everything was the same but my socks,” Ingram, who was…
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Author : James Herbert
Publish date : 2024-06-28 01:12:43
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