Player Invitations: A Moment of Prestige
Twelve players have received prestigious invitations to attend the 2024 NBA Draft, granting them a coveted seat in the green room. The distinguished dozen includes Zaccharie Risacher, Alex Sarr, Donovan Clingan, Reed Sheppard, Matas Buzelis, Stephon Castle, Dalton Knecht, Tidjane Salaun, Ron Holland, Cody Williams, Devin Carter, and Ja'Kobe Walter. This initial group of 12 invites was dispatched this past Tuesday.
Further waves of invitations are expected to go out starting next week, with another 11-12 players likely receiving their invites soon.
The Green Room Explained
The green room serves as a staging area located in front of the NBA Draft podium. In this exclusive setting, players, their families, and their agents await the all-important moment when Commissioner Adam Silver announces their selection. This year, each player will be permitted to bring six guests to sit at their individual tables—a reduction from the ten allowed last year.
The invitation to the green room is generally viewed as a favorable indicator of a player's draft stock. However, history has shown that this isn't always a guarantee. There have been instances where prospects have fallen to the second round while sitting in the green room. Notable examples of such occurrences include Bol Bol, Deyonta Davis, Nic Claxton, Maciej Lampe, and Rashard Lewis, among others.
Draft Details and New Format
For the first time, the NBA Draft will extend over the course of two days. The first round is scheduled to take place on June 26 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, followed by the second round on June 27 in lower Manhattan. This new format could draw added scrutiny regarding the final set of players invited to the green room, as there is an effort to avoid situations where invited players and their families have to endure an extra day of waiting for their names to be called.
Last year, the final batch of invitations wasn't sent out until two days before the draft. All 12 players from this year's initial batch of invites, however, are projected to be lottery picks.
Uninvited Projected Lottery Picks
Interestingly, two projected lottery picks have yet to receive an invitation to the green room: Kentucky's Rob Dillingham and Serbian point guard Nikola Topic. This development has raised eyebrows and generated buzz among draft enthusiasts.
Dillingham has not yet met all the necessary requirements to be eligible for selection in the draft, as stipulated by the NBA's collective bargaining agreement. An ankle injury prevented him from participating in athletic testing and shooting drills at the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago in mid-May. This injury has also hindered him from attending private workouts with NBA teams so far.
The good news for Dillingham is that his ankle has since recovered. According to his agent, Lucas Newton of Klutch Sports, Dillingham plans to complete those requirements at the Lakers' practice facility on Friday.
As for Nikola Topic, his situation is slightly more complicated. At the NBA Draft Combine in Treviso, Italy, last week, Topic was found to have a partially torn ACL. This discovery inevitably introduces uncertainty regarding his draft stock until team doctors can fully evaluate the injury and decide on the best course of action concerning surgery and a subsequent recovery plan.
The collective anticipation around the draft will only grow as final invitations continue to be sent. The green room, though steeped in prestige, is a place of high stakes and even higher emotions. For those who receive an invitation, it is a moment to savor; for those still waiting, it is a race against time and chance to secure a spot among the NBA's brightest future stars.