Rashard Lewis: I will never forget my Draft night – NBA Draft Special
One of the most unexpected scenes that occurred in an NBA Draft was back in 1998 when small forward Rashard Lewis was sitting last in the green room, waiting for his name to be uttered by the NBA commissioner.
Only the players, who are considered among the top 15 prospects, are invited to the green room. However, it was not the case with Lewis back then.
Rashard was among the players who sat in the famed ‘Green Room’ when the names began to roll out. Michael Olowokandi was drafted as the first overall pick by Los Angeles Clippers, Mike Bibby was selected second by Vancouver Grizzlies, and Raef Andrew LaFrentz was picked third by the Denver Nuggets. The succession continued and the first round selection came to an end but Lewis’ name was never announced.
Despite of being considered among the top prospects, Lewis was ignored by all the teams with the first round pick. Rashard even faced disappointment from his home town team Houston Rockets, who refused to draft the future All-star with their three first round picks – a move that came as a big surprise to the analysts as well.
Lewis eventually got picked by the Seattle Super Sonics as the 33rd overall, but even after 13 years, he is still haunted by that evening.
“All the time. Every draft. Every year around this time I think about sitting in that green room. It's something that I will never forget my whole life."
From there, the 31 year old Lewis went on a mission to prove each and every team that they were wrong about him. Over the years, the prolific forward has accomplished the mission to perfection and showed the NBA world that was best talent in the 1998 NBA Draft. During his thirteen years of career, Rashard has been nominated as an All-Star twice and has earned more than 100 million dollars.
After a couple of years with the Supersonics, Lewis transformed himself into a constant double-double threat and became a cornerstone for the team. In the early 2000’s, he was considered as one of the best power forwards in the league. The 2006-2007 season was his last year with Seattle Supersonics and he posted an average of 22.4 points, 6.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game that year.
Lewis then took his talents to Orlando Magic and played four seasons with the franchise. However, his spark dampened somewhat at the South Beach franchise. Lewis failed to live up to the hype and eventually in last mid season trade, he and his bloated contract was relocated to the Washington Wizards.
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