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The NBA Draft is tomorrow. For many observers it is the first step towards coronating a new class of stars. In reality, finding out who the next Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, or Tim Duncan happens years in advance. Perceptions are formed before the draft even happens. Last season Shabazz Muhammad was nixed from both the Pre-draft media availability and the green room. He then didn't walk up to shake David Stern's hand when called at #14 either -- all great moments of his career.
Last season the pre-draft media availability and green room participation number stood at 13. This season things are a little more expanded. There are two events today, and one tomorrow.
The first is the media availability (you can read the full post on this subject here), and then shortly after that there is a select group of players going to a public school to participate and engage students in a clinic and talk about nutrition (you can read the full post on this subject here). And then, the next day is the NBA Draft, and there are only elite players selected to be part of the Green Room pageant (and you can read all about it here).
All in all, there will be 20-21 different players participating in things. That's a step up than the 13 last year, effectively it's 33% more pre-contract signing work for these young kids. The only uncertainty is with Embiid -- who was originally scheduled to do these community and press events, but life, and navicular bones, got in the way.
So which players are going to be where?
| Media | NBA Fit | Green Room | ||
| Player | Wed | Wed | Thur | |
| 1 | Andrew Wiggins | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2 | Jabari Parker | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | Joel Embiid | 1 * | ||
| 4 | Dante Exum | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | Noah Vonleh | 1 | 1 | |
| 6 | Aaron Gordon | 1 | 1 | |
| 7 | Julius Randle | 1 | 1 | |
| 8 | Marcus Smart | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 9 | Doug McDermott | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 10 | Dario Saric | 1 | 1 | |
| 11 | Gary Harris | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 12 | Elfrid Payton | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 13 | Nik Stauskas | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 14 | James Young | 1 | 1 | |
| 15 | Zach LaVine | 1 | 1 | |
| 16 | Jusuf Nurkic | 1 | 1 | |
| 17 | Adreian Payne | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 18 | T.J. Warren | 1 | 1 | |
| 19 | Tyler Ennis | 1 | 1 | |
| 20 | Rodney Hood | 1 | 1 | |
| 21 | Shabazz Napier | 1 | 1 | |
| Total | 20 | 9 | 20 |
It's easy to see which guys the NBA is actively trying to promote right now. Look for these guys to get the most articles written about them in the upcoming season by NBA.com writers as well. This is how it starts, and this is why you want a star. Because the NBA takes care of their stars -- because they do so much for the league off the court.