On June 28, 1997, two weeks had passed since the NBA Finals, and the 1997 NBA Draft had concluded three days earlier.
In Charlotte, North Carolina, David Stern and representatives from the NBA's 27 teams showcased the most crucial part of this grand NBA event—its talent-producing mechanism.
Each year, only over 50 young individuals are selected through two rounds to enter this basketball empire, becoming a part of it, enjoying money, glory, and fame, while bearing all the blood and tears of professional sports.
Of these 50-odd young men, over half will survive in the league for more than three years, half of those will make it past five years, and half again will last over ten years.
Those who truly survive long-term are certainly at the pinnacle of this pyramid, and at the very top are those destined to be picked with the first overall selection as the chosen ones.
