Ready for prime time: LeBron James will be taken first in the draft, his team determined in a lottery shifted to nighttime to capitalize on his popularity, but his No. 1 status likely has as much to do with ticket sales as talent

Sporting News, The, May 26, 2003 by Sean Deveney

Welcome, ladies and gentlemen, to this installment of The Drafting Game, the annual reality program that finds the most eligible basketball bachelors in the country--er, world--and matches them with the hopeful dregs of American professional basketball. Three (very) young men have been selected among hundreds of hopefuls, and soon a contestant will be chosen to pick among these three. That contestant will be carefully selected through a well-monitored and entirely honest system (we would never, ever condone rigging The Drafting Game, of course). Now, ladies and gentlemen, let's meet the bachelors!

Fun and excitement are not terms usually associated with the NBA's draft lottery--try "mundane" and "nap-worthy"--but, without question, 2003 will be different. This year, there is hoopla. There is hullabaloo. Usually, the lottery is harmlessly wedged into the halftime show of a Sunday afternoon playoff broadcast, but this year it has been stretched into a half-hour, prime-time show, a drama (working title: The Elgin Baylor Chronicles) that ABC will put up against Thursday night staples Friends and CSI.

There's only one reason this lottery has landed in prime time: It's the LeBron-a-thon, and the TV slot serves as Exhibit A in the case for Ohio prep star LeBron James as the No. 1 pick in the draft. The sports-loving nation is so intrigued by his potential that ABC thinks it can knock off the small-screen heavyweights with 30 minutes of David Stern opening envelopes. Such is the hype and delusion around James that there is not much chance of there being any rational thinking when it comes to making the first pick.

Imagine the team with the top pick taking someone other than James. It can't happen. James has played in three high school all-star games and sold out all three. Where the EA Sports Roundball Classic drew 5,712 fans to Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., two years ago, it drew 19,678 to Chicago's United Center in March. That's the power of James.

"Who knows how good he is?" says Michael Lane, the managing editor of Team Marketing Report. "But it does not matter. It's impossible to put a number on his impact until after next year, but whoever has him is going to see season ticket sales jump. They're going to sell out games. They're going to sell parking, concessions, club seats, merchandise, everything. You will sell all that before the season; then, if he is any good, it will just mushroom from there. It will be close to Michael Jordan coming back for Washington."

Thus, the possibility of a fair shake for picks 1a and 1b--in no particular order, Syracuse freshman Carmelo Anthony and Yugoslavian forward Darko Milicic--is out the window. There is too much money to be made from James. But Milicic and Anthony deserve better. James may be the clear No. 1, but what is not clear is whether that choice is based on athletic potential or marketing potential. "You'd have to work out all three, at least, to compare them," says one college scout. "And my best guess would be that it would be close, but James might not come out on top."

Thus, we at TSN have put together The Drafting Game--plain evaluations of the top three prospects, unencumbered by accountants, free of hype and assembled with the belief that the draft should not be a popularity contest.

Meet Bachelor No. 1: He says he is a sucker for old-fashioned things (especially sports jerseys) and even owns his own SUV--though he points out that he is much better at driving the lane than driving near parked cars. His hobbies include a headband collection, participating in lively debates on shoe contracts and referring to himself in the third person. Folks, let's meet LeBron!

Lebron says: "My last year in high school, we played the best teams in the country. I played 6-8, 6-9, 6-10 players all my senior year. If I play my game and just keep the work ethic that I have, I'll be successful at the next level."

Best-case scenario: Magic Johnson meets Tracy McGrady. Worst-case scenario: Darius Miles meets Ricky Davis.

The skinny: At this point, James has more ability than any prep player who previously has made the jump to the NBA, with the possible exception of Kevin Garnett. Even at 6-8, 240 pounds, James can handle the ball, cross up defenders and blow by anyone with his unpredictable first step. He is a first-rate passer with a flair for the exciting, and he ranks with McGrady and Kobe Bryant as this country's best finishers at the rim.

"You have to remember that he was one of the top high school football prospects in the country as a wide receiver last year," says draft expert Chris Monter of Monter Draft News. "He is a great athlete. He can play point guard, shooting guard or small forward, and it's that versatility that makes him the No. 1 pick."

Two aspects of James' game that most often are questioned are his shooting and his defense. But playing against high school competition, he never has had to play the defensive stopper's role against someone with comparable skills, so his defense is an unknown, not a negative. He has the physical tools to become a very good defender, just as Garnett, Bryant and McGrady have. His shot is subpar, and because of that, he probably will struggle early in his career. He must work on it.