Miami, FL 12/12/08 – Winners of the “There Can Only Be One” online sweepstakes came by the AmericanAirlines Arena on Thursday for a meet-and-greet with the No. 2 pick of the 2008 NBA Draft, Michael Beasley.  

The sweepstakes, which ran from June 11 to June 25, allowed all HEAT fans living in South Florida to log onto HEAT.com to guess the team’s first-round draft pick. Fans who correctly guessed were entered into a drawing to attend a meet-and-greet with that player, who turned out to be Beasley.  

There were 1277 entries, of which 680 of them, approximately 53 percent, picked the Kansas State product as the HEAT’s top choice.  

Despite the constant buzz and trade rumors surrounding the top two picks in the draft, they weren’t enough to discourage Pembroke Pines resident Velma John from guessing Beasley. 

“I had no doubt the HEAT were going pick him,” said John, who is also a three-year HEAT Season Ticket Holder. “He was the best player in college basketball all of last year. With all the hype surrounding Derrick Rose, I knew Chicago was going to pick him. We wouldn’t leave Beasley out, are you kidding me? The guy’s a scorer. We had to pick him.”  

The Chicago Bulls drafted Rose out of Memphis with the No. 1 pick. 

However, guessing right doesn’t necessarily translate to winning. But John made sure the odds were in her favor. 

“I voted once a day, everyday, for the duration of the contest,” she said. 

University of Florida student and South Florida native Justin Cheng took the drive from Gainesville to meet the highly touted HEAT rookie.  

“The only reason I went to sleep was because I needed to drive five hours to get here,” Cheng said. “I still went to sleep late and woke up early because I was so excited – I was ready to get down here and meet him.” 

Following practice, Beasley came out and shook hands with all the winners and their guests and conducted a Q&A – answering questions about his relationship with Dwyane Wade to getting advice from Alonzo Mourning. Following the approximate 15-minute question-and-answer session, Beasley took photos and signed autographs with the attendees.  

Everyone in attendance also received a HEAT fan kit, which included a Miami HEAT T-shirt and other team goodies. 

HEAT fan Surya Fernandez, who resides in Aventura, was in attendance at the 2008 Miami HEAT Draft Party and was thrilled when the HEAT selected Beasley. His reaction was caught by both the Miami Herald and the Sun-Sentinel and was the featured photo of both newspapers’ sports pages. He brought both papers to get autographed. 

When he received an e-mail from the HEAT saying he was one of the 20 winners, the emotions from the draft party once again came out. 

“I thought it was a joke, but I was excited.” he said.  

When asked how he reacted when he realized it was real, he pointed at the two newspapers he was holding. 

“It was great,” he said while laughing. 

He was also pleased with the meet-and-greet and the rest of the HEAT Experience.  

“It was awesome,” Fernandez said about the event. “I wish we could do more stuff like this. The HEAT hooked it up. It’s cool that the HEAT does this for its fans.”