Behind The Scenes At The NBA Draft Lottery

"G-Force" Gerald Wallace flew to Secaucus, New Jersey, along with Bobcats Vice President of Public Relations Scott Leightman as Charlotte's representative at the 2006 NBA Draft Lottery. Wallace represented the face of the franchise on stage at the Lottery, while Leightman was back in the Lottery Drawing Room. Follow along as Wallace and Leightman's day unfolds on the way to receiving the third pick in the 2006 NBA Draft.

9:42 a.m.
US Air Flight #895 departs Charlotte for Newark

11:17 a.m.
Flight lands in Newark

11:57 a.m.
Arrive at Embassy Suites hotel in Secaucus

12:30 p.m.
Wallace partakes in a phone interview on Sirius Radio’s daily show with Kenny Smith and Ian Eagle

12:45 p.m.
Wallace enjoys a room service lunch of cheeseburger and fries

1:05 p.m.
G-Force begins a long afternoon nap

5:00 p.m.
Wallace joins WFNZ’s "Primetime with the Packman" program for a pre-lottery visit

5:25 p.m.
Wallace and Leightman arrive at the NBA Entertainment studio

5:30 p.m.
Wallace gets congratulations on his season from several NBA general managers, presidents and media while munching on turkey in the pre-show hospitality area

5:50 p.m.
Wallace appears live on ESPNNews, calmly taking questions from interviewer Brian Kenney. As Wallace readies for the interview to start, a makeup artist adds some touches so the lights don’t make their mark on his face.
As Wallace enters the studio, NBA staffers are going through a mock lottery… “What are they doing over there?” Wallace asks Leightman as they enter the studio. Leightman responds, “They’re fixing the lottery now so that we win it later.” Wallace chuckles as he prepares for the interview.

6:00 p.m.
Wallace and Leightman go to Conference Room 3A on the third floor, which tonight serves as the Lottery Drawing Room, for a briefing on how the lottery is conducted. On one wall are panels listing the 1,000 combination assignments. NBA officials explain to the group about the 1,000 combinations (the order of the numbers selected does not matter, so 1-2-3-4 is the same as 3-1-4-2), how they’re assigned to the teams, how the drawing of the ping-pong balls occurs and how the combinations are formed for the winning number (“I didn’t know it was that complicated,” Wallace quipped.), the specifics of the lottery machine itself, what would happen if the machine breaks, the plan for if the power would go out and what the process would be if the latch broke and the balls went wayward throughout the room (Wallace laughs at that rare possibility).
Wallace catches up with Winston-Salem native Chris Paul, who is there to represent the Hornets, and the two congratulate each other on the season. Wallace and Paul are the only players among the 14 participants on stage.

6:14 p.m.
Leightman stays in the room on the third floor until the lottery show on ESPN is complete at 8:00 p.m. He and Wallace shake hands and Wallace says, “good luck, get it done” to Leightman, who replies, “Good luck to you down there. Don’t forget to show them your smile.”

6:15 p.m.
Security officials in Conference Room 3A tell the members in the Lottery Drawing Room to use the restroom at this time before the lockdown of the room begins. Blue envelopes are also distributed for participants to place all communications devices, such as cell phones, Blackberrys, Treos and pagers. They will be returned after the lottery results are announced.

6:18 p.m.
Leightman sits at his designated spot and reviews the eight-page document that has all the combinations and their assignments. Charlotte’s numbers are on pages four and five and begin with 2-6-13-14 (the 450th combination on the list) and run through 3-5-13-14 (the 587th combination on the list).

6:19 p.m.
The lottery drawing for the first pick in the 2006 NBA Draft begins and the first ball is selected. The number is 13… and the Bobcats are still eligible for the number one pick (if 1 came up, the Bobcats would be eliminated). The second number to pop up is 4. After 20 seconds, the third number arrives and it is number 10. If the final number comes up 3, then the Bobcats will get the number one pick. Only 20 seconds until the final ball comes up.
“Are you kidding me?” Leightman is thinking. “Gerald is sitting downstairs and his jersey number is 3. This is shaping up great. How awesome would it be if the final number is 3 and Gerald is downstairs?”
The final number is 11 and Toronto gets the top pick. Leightman says to himself, “That would’ve been an amazing story. So close.”

6:21 p.m.
It’s time to draw for the second pick and the first number is 4. Next up is 14. (Look familiar?). Then 10 comes up third… and the same scenario runs through Leightman’s thoughts. The final number is 6, and Toronto’s combination comes up again… 8.8% chance of getting the top pick and their numbers come up twice in a row.

6:23 p.m.
Still trying to find the second pick and the first number is 1. The Bobcats will not be second. The rest of the combination is 14-8-11, and Chicago is awarded the second spot.

6:25 p.m.
Next up is the third slot. The first number is 11… followed by 2… then comes 14. The last number is 3. Still belongs to Chicago. Draw again.

6:27 p.m.
Still looking for the third position. First number to come up is 3. Then a 6 pops up. The third number is a 9. At this point, Leightman looks quickly at the list and realizes that the Bobcats will win this combination as long as a 1 or a 2 does not get drawn. “No 1 or 2! No 1 or 2!” continually goes through Leightman’s mind. Here comes the ball… “4,” is announced, followed by “Charlotte.” The third position is secured.

6:30 p.m.
The waiting begins. The lottery draw is over and Leightman is “locked down” in Conference Room 3A for 90 minutes until the draft order is announced on ESPN.

6:45 p.m.
In the studio on the first floor, Gerald Wallace joins the other 13 other on-stage participants for a briefing.

7:00 p.m.
A rehearsal with Russ Granik takes place. There are no sneak peaks to the draft order, as the practice uses the pre-Lottery order.

7:30 p.m.
ESPN broadcast begins.

7:50 p.m.
Granik begins to announce the lottery results, beginning with the 14th pick. The order follows according to script, until Atlanta is announced with the fifth pick, meaning Toronto moved into the top three. Portland is announced with the fourth pick, guaranteeing Charlotte the first, second or third pick.

7:53 p.m.
ESPN goes to commercial break before announcing the order of the top three picks.
“When we went to commercial, my heart starting beating really fast,” Wallace said. “It was really nerve-racking and exciting. I was more nervous than I am playing a game.”

7:55 p.m.
Granik opens the envelope for the third overall pick and the logo of the Charlotte Bobcats appears.
“I knew when they made me switch chairs (during the commercial break) that I shouldn’t have done that,” Wallace said. “I should’ve stayed in that other chair.”

7:59 p.m.
ESPN host Dan Patrick asks Wallace if he was nervous. Wallace responds, “Yes, pretty much.”

8:00 p.m.
Gerald Wallace answers some questions from the media and shakes his head as he thinks back on the experience and how close the Bobcats were to getting the top pick.
“I had more fun than I thought I would,” Wallace said. “I know we’re going to get a good player at the third spot. I am just glad they finally opened the envelopes because I couldn’t have handled the suspense much longer.”