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Twenty players have received invitations to attend the 2021 NBA Draft and sit in the green room, sources told ESPN.
Cade Cunningham, Jalen Green, Evan Mobley, Jalen Suggs, Jonathan Kuminga, Scottie Barnes, Davion Mitchell, James Bouknight, Keon Johnson, Franz Wagner, Josh Giddey, Jalen Johnson, Corey Kispert, Moses Moody and Kai Jones received the first batch of 15 invites last week, with Alperen Sengun, Cameron Thomas, Ziaire Williams, Chris Duarte and Isaiah Jackson receiving the last five nods.
The Green Room is a staging area in front of the NBA Draft podium where players, families, and agents await the moment Commissioner Adam Silver calls out a player’s name upon selection.
The process of deciding which players to invite to the draft involves communication with the general managers of the selected teams throughout the first round. Teams are invited to vote for the top 25 players who they believe will be called up first. This is to ensure that the players do not sit for very long under the bright lights in front of a national television audience as the second round approaches.
Receiving an invite is considered a positive sign for a player’s draft stock, although there have been many instances in the past where prospects have fallen in the second round while sitting in the green room. .
The 20 invited players are expected to be in the top 25 of ESPN’s latest mock draft.
Usman Garuba, seen as a likely top-20 pick, was invited but was forced to decline as he is currently part of the Spain national team as part of his preparations for the Tokyo Olympics.
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