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 selected No. 48 by the San Antonio Spurs, said.
Adem Bona, a Nigerian center out of UCLA did not go to Barclays, but said that “the two days kind of makes it more stressful. If it’s one day, back-to-back, I’m like, ‘All right, I’m getting my name called today regardless.'” He felt “more safe and secure,” though, because of who was with him.
“I have my family here,” Bona said. “My immediate family couldn’t make it. My mom, siblings couldn’t make it. But my aunt, my uncle, my cousins from Canada, I have my girlfriend, I have my host family. I have a good group of people here.”
Bona added: “Either today or yesterday, if my name wasn’t called, they would still support me.”
After the Philadelphia 76ers selected Bona with the No. 41 pick, his stress was replaced by an enormous smile. Asked what he was excited about being drafted specifically by the Sixers, he said, “Everything is exciting.” He wants to get to work with his new team as soon as possible.
“I’m just so excited to be there,” Bona said. “Actually, my older brother is a Philly fan. He’s really excited right now, probably. He’s back home in Nigeria watching. I can’t wait to get there, man. I’m also getting the opportunity to meet Joel Embiid.”
Bobi Klintman, a Swedish forward who spent last season with the Cairns Taipans of the Australian NBL, described the last 24-48 hours as “hectic.”
“It’s been a lot,” Klintman, the No. 37 pick and newest member of the Detroit Pistons, said. “Just talking to my agent, him talking to other teams about what I was going to do. Ended up in Detroit, and I’m really happy about that. I feel like I can come in and help them get a little burst.”
When he heard his name called at the Seaport, “it was unbelievable,” Klintman said. “I didn’t have no words. I didn’t know what to feel. Like, I was trying to hold my tears in. I was really happy. Sharing the moment with the family, too, was big-time.”
Cam Christie, the wing out of Minnesota, was particularly happy to be drafted No. 46 by the Los Angeles Clippers. This means that he can live with his brother, Max, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.
“It’s really hard to even put in words, honestly,” Christie said, noting that it is “extremely rare that two brothers are ever in the NBA, let alone have them in the exact same city. So it’s super dope. We’re really close, obviously.”
Christie did not work out for the Clippers, but he interviewed with them at the draft combine in Chicago in May. He and Max are “extremely close” and “talk every single day,” so they had discussed the possibility, however remote, of living under one roof as NBA players.
“It definitely came up multiple times,” Christie said.
Max was not in the green room on Thursday, but he was in the building. “He’s over there in the family room, actually,” Christie said, still seemingly in disbelief over how the draft played out.
“The fact that it actually happened—we never really thought it would happen, so it’s super cool,” Christie said.
The draft began at 8 p.m. on Wednesday, and it only finished about 22½ hours later. For those who had their names called on Thursday, it was a tense time … until it wasn’t.
“Obviously it’s a lot of nerves,” Christie said. “You don’t really know what’s going to happen. You don’t know when you’re going to get called, who’s going to draft you, that kind of thing. But I think once I got that call, it kind of all just went away.”
