Secrets of the NBA Draft... and what the TV cameras didn't show you

Daily Mail​

2 days ago

Ace Bailey wasn't expecting to hear his name called.
Not here. Not by Utah, whom he didn't work out for, and were not one of his 'preferred' destinations, according to ESPN's Jonathan Givony.
But after reportedly trying to land himself on an East Coast team - even throwing out the first pitch at a recent Mets game - the Jazz picked him anyway, leaving him seemingly perplexed before telling reporters he had 'no idea' Utah were interested. He later called his new opportunity a 'blessing.'
The polarizing Rutgers star, whose attitude was perhaps unfairly picked apart during the pre-draft process, showed a softer side roughly an hour before hearing his name called at No. 5, as he took a moment to scribble his autograph on some basketballs for fans.
It wouldn't be much longer before he went up on stage in his red-and-black, Scarlet-Knights themed suit to shake commissioner Adam Silver's hand.
But away from the bright lights, there was plenty more observed by the Daily Mail on Wednesday as well.
Just after the conclusion of the first round on Wednesday, Duke coach Jon Scheyer was rushing away from the Barclays Center when he was intercepted by a young fan hoping for a photo.
It would've been easy for the Blue Devils legend to keep moving.
But after a tremendous night for Scheyer and Duke, in which three of his ex-players became top-10 picks, perhaps it shouldn't have been a surprise that he happily obliged on the Brooklyn sidewalk with a smile on his face.
It had only been a few hours earlier that Cooper Flagg went No. 1, followed by Kon Knueppel at No. 4 and Khaman Maluach at 10, with the latter being subsequently traded from to Phoenix from Houston.
Flagg's selection by Dallas at No. 1 came as no surprise, so one would have expected his post-draft engagements to be cleanly mapped out ahead of time.
However, the forward wasn't made available to reporters until more than an hour after he heard his name called, as the No. 2 pick Dylan Harper actually lapped him and spoke first. Flagg was promptly met with a question about 'conspiracy theorists' suggesting the draft lottery was rigged when he finally sat down.
Knueppel, too, was curiously asked about continuing his studies while with the Hornets, while Maluach - who didn't begin playing basketball until he was 13 - was a fan favorite on the night.
With Flagg, Harper, VJ Edgecombe and twenty other names invited to sit in the green room, this was a star-studded draft - and that was reflected by some of the non-player names in attendance.
Restauranteur Mario Carbone appeared to be on the floor ahead of the night beginning in proper, while Knicks superfan Spike Lee sat quietly with a friend - despite the fact New York didn't have a first-round selection.
Spike Lee was also in attendance even though the Knicks didn't have a first-round pick
Olympian Suni Lee, who even performed red carpet interviews beforehand, was seen taking in the draft on the ground floor as well.
In one somewhat surreal moment, the older Lee actually rebuffed a young Knicks fan asking for a photo, as the famed director was still having a conversation with someone else. It's unclear if he later accepted the request.
Several other instances from the stands proved to much cheerier.
An apparent family member or friend of Jeremiah Fears' wailed in delight after he was selected No. 7 by the Pelicans.
The crowd erupted when South Sudan-born Maluach - was picked, with one Duke fan duly holding up a poster from the stands in celebration.
That sort of love seemed to extend to his fellow draftees, as he later shared a hearty handshake with fellow international Hansen Yang in the media room.
Yang, a Chinese center, went earlier than expected at No. 16 to the Blazers (after a trade with the Grizzlies), and drew a massive swarm of media at his stand-up interview following his press conference.
Another perceived reach was Egor Demin, whom the Nets selected at No. 8 - their first lottery pick in 15 years - inside their home arena.
There was a smattering of boos after the surprising pick (Demin had been mocked at least several picks lower), though the Russian point guard later compared to the game of basketball to 'art' and said he had 'no doubt' he would develop into an effective shooter.
The moment dreams turned into reality 🦁💙 #WeAre | #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/JOcxXs8Ww9
— Penn State Men's Basketball (@PennStateMBB) June 26, 2025
Plenty of other moments colored what was an exciting and at-times surprising NBA Draft night.
A TikTokker from the popular 'bebida.tailgate' account quizzed fans on the concourse. Former Arizona guard Carter Bryant shared a handshake with a prominent college basketball reporter after getting selected by the Spurs.
With just five picks remaining in the first round, all but two of the Green Room invites had been selected. But one was about to give the Barclays Center a final jolt of energy, as the Nets prepared for their final two picks of the night (of a record five).
Michigan's Danny Wolf remained on the board at No. 27, and after some 'Brooklyn' chants from the home crowd, one group of fans (including one in Wolf's college jersey) started cheering for the big man from their seats on the side of the stage.
Whether they thought they had seen a clue he was about to be taken by the Nets - or just tried to will it into existence - that wish soon became true as the Nets selected the 7-footer.
Shortly after, Liam McNeeley became the final invitee off the board a couple of picks later, though he was actually not the final player to grace the stage with Silver.
With the last pick of the night, the Clippers selected Swiss center Yanic Konan Niederhauser, who sprinted from a box in the Barclays Center to the stage upon learning he would be drafted. There was little doubt left as to where he had been sitting moments before when a small group of people went wild in the far corner of the arena.
The Barclays Center crowd, meanwhile, seemed unfamiliar with the former Penn State player.