I've been criticized my whole career. When I got drafted in the second round in the green room, they said I wouldn't even make it in the N.B.A.
On draft day, I wasn't really nervous at all. Then you turn on the draft, the first five picks go by, and then you still thinking, 'Oh man, I don't know where I'm going to go.' It's really just, by the time draft hits, that's when you get nervous.
I learned that Yao Ming broke his navicular bone like five days before the 2009 draft. From that moment on, all I thought about was going from zero stars to one star. How do you do it?
I expected to get drafted. I knew that I wouldn't get drafted on that first day due to the fact that not a lot of people had the opportunity to see me play much.
During my senior year, there were NBA scouts at my games. At some point, I guess, I started hoping I'd get drafted by a team where there would be a great situation for me. As it turned out, Portland was the best situation for me.
It's not just the NFL. Every other league has a draft. It has been fundamental to the success of professional sports.
I figured that pitchers had a better chance of getting drafted than fielders, so I decided I should be a pitcher. But I never expected to be picked in the first round. I wasn't even sure I'd get picked at all.
Having my name called to be the first pick for the Phoenix Suns was mind-blowing. Having all that confidence and leading up to that point when I saw Adam Silver come out, I was just waiting for my name, and when he called it, my mind went blank.
Do I consider the 2003 Draft class the best ever? Yes, absolutely!
I always wanted to be the No. 1 pick, but come draft night anything can happen - trades, or anything like that.
The draft is one of my favorite events because it is about football. People are focused on how their teams improve. It's a celebration of football. And most importantly, it represents a very important time in the lives of these men who are entering the NFL, and their families.
I had little or no expectations coming in. I was thrilled when I was drafted in the first round because that meant I was going to be given a full year's chance to make the team.
I definitely would embrace that opportunity to be the No. 1 overall pick, obviously that every quarterback would love to be that. It's no different for me.
Everybody wants to be a first round pick.
I used to say my biggest accomplishment was just getting drafted, whether it was the first pick or the 100th or whatever.
When you're 20 and going to the draft, everybody is telling you what you should wear. I kind of succumbed to peer pressure on that one.
I was pretty realistic about my chances of being drafted.
Shaking the commissioner's hand has always been a big thing for me. When you're young and you watch the draft every year, you're like, 'That's going to be me one day.'
I used to tell people that in 2012 when I was trying to understand where am I most likely to be drafted and who are the three or four teams that have pursued me the most and it would make sense that they would pick me, I never thought of who would be least likely to draft me.
I remember placing the New Era cap on my head at the 2017 NBA draft - that moment changed my life. I'm excited to be a part of a brand that has a strong sport heritage and look forward to being a part of their history.
I sat in the green room at Radio City Music Hall for the 2006 NFL Draft. At my table, I was encircled by my parents, brother, agent, former coaches and close friends.
Draft day is a hectic day, especially for draftees and, more or less, for management.
I didn't know if I was going to be drafted, period. I remember sitting there and just praying that whatever God has for me to happen, and I didn't get any calls from anybody else the whole round. And then I got a call from New England five hours after the draft started.
I didn't even care where I was drafted.
I'm not really too focused on where I get drafted. It's what I do after I get drafted.
