Player Invitations
Twelve players have received the highly coveted invitations to attend the 2024 NBA Draft, securing a seat in the prestigious green room. The invited players include 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. These invitations mark the initial batch dispatched on Tuesday, with another 11-12 invitations expected to be sent out in waves starting next week.
Green Room Details
The green room serves as a staging area situated in front of the NBA Draft podium. Here, players, their families, and agents await the moment when Commissioner Adam Silver announces their selection. This year, each player will be allowed to invite six people to sit at their individual tables, a reduction from the ten allowed last year. Receiving an invitation to the green room is generally seen as a positive indicator of a player's draft stock.
Yet, there have been instances where prospects fell to the second round while sitting in the green room. Notable examples include Bol Bol, Deyonta Davis, Nic Claxton, Maciej Lampe, Rashard Lewis, among others. These instances underscore the unpredictable nature of the draft, irrespective of initial projections.
Draft Details
For the first time, the NBA Draft will span two days. The first round will take place on June 26 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center, while the second round will be held on June 27 in lower Manhattan. This new format could bring added scrutiny over the final set of players invited to the green room, aiming to avoid a situation where an invited player and their family have to wait an extra day to hear their name called. Interestingly, last year, the final batch of invitations was not sent out until two days before the draft.
All 12 players from the initial batch of invites are projected to be lottery picks, adding to the significance of their early selection to attend the draft in the green room.
Uninvited Projected Lottery Picks
Two projected lottery picks who have yet to receive an invitation to the green room are Kentucky's Rob Dillingham and Serbian point guard Nikola Topic. The delay in Dillingham's invitation stems from his failure to complete 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 Dillingham 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 thus far. However, his ankle has recovered, and he plans on completing those requirements at the Lakers' practice facility on Friday, according to his agent Lucas Newton of Klutch Sports.
Meanwhile, Topic has faced uncertainty due to a partially torn ACL discovered at the NBA Draft Combine in Treviso, Italy, last week. This discovery will likely create uncertainty around his draft stock until team doctors can fully evaluate the injury and decide on the best course of action regarding surgery and a subsequent recovery plan. These medical concerns could lead to fluctuations in his ranking as teams proceed with caution.
The anticipation and excitement continue to build as the 2024 NBA Draft approaches. The initial 12 invited players are all slated to make significant impacts in the league, bearing the weight of expectations and aspirations. As more invites roll out in the coming weeks, fans and analysts alike will be keenly watching to see how the draft unfolds, who rises, and who falls.