The NBA Draft is right around the corner which means invitations for players to attend the green room have been sent out and the RSVP’s will likely come back with approval from all 10 of the players the league invited. According to ESPN’s Chad Ford, the NBA has invited Nerlens Noel, Trey Burke, Victor Oladipo and seven others to the draft so they can hold up their jerseys in front of flashing lights and happy fans.
Green room invitees: Noel, Oladipo, Porter, Len, Bennett, McLemore, Burke, Carter-Williams, McCollum & Zeller.
— NBA Big Board (@chadfordinsider) June 23, 2013
We still have no idea who will be the top overall selection in the draft which is a major reason why the players were invited. But the NBA always invites top prospect to attend so they can have their moment in the spotlight. Interestingly enough, there are no European players on the guest list as all ten players are American players coming fresh out of college to the NBA.
One guy not invited who was once considered a top pick is UCLA’s Shabazz Muhammad who has fallen hard in mock drafts and may not even end up being selected in the lottery.
Of the players who could get picked first overall, Nerlens Noel, Ben McLemore, Otto Porter and Alex Len are all hoping to hear their names called first but it’s to whom they’ll be drafted by that’s an equal drama. It’s no secret that Cleveland Cavaliers are looking to part ways with the top pick which could mean a team wanting one of these four mentioned players bad enough trades up or a team moves up to draft someone like Burke or Oladipo.
Still, these ten players are living out a dream and their invite to the NBA Draft is only making their eyes widen and their smiles bigger as they inch towards the day they’ve all been waiting for.