Or maybe not.

Wilkins was undrafted after finishing his college career at Georgia. Robert Laberge/Getty Images

As painful as going undrafted must be for an aspiring NBA player, it has never been a death sentence for an NBA career. With the draft becoming increasingly a crapshoot as teams look to hit homeruns by picking young foreigners or high schoolers with later picks, that's never been more the case than now. In 2003, Detroit's Ben Wallace and Sacramento's Brad Miller (then with Indiana) became the first undrafted players in NBA history to make the All-Star Game.

Already, there have been a pair of major undrafted success stories from the 2003 Draft. Dallas guard Marquis Daniels had a phenomenal rookie season, working his way into the Mavericks starting lineup in time for the playoffs, where he averaged 15.8 points and 6.2 rebounds against the Sacramento Kings. This summer, Daniels parlayed his breakout season into a lucrative long-term deal from the Mavericks.

Wallace's Detroit teammate, Ronald Dupree, isn't in Daniels' tax bracket, but he now has the security of a guaranteed contract after playing nearly 900 minutes with the Chicago Bulls after being picked up in January. Elsewhere, Udonis Haslem (not selected in the 2002 Draft before spending the 2002-03 season in France) played nearly 2,000 minutes for the playoff-bound Heat as a rookie.

It was based on these comrades that Seattle SuperSonics swingman Damien Wilkins was able to keep going after the disappointment of going undrafted this June. In particular, Daniels - a friend of Wilkins dating back to their days as SEC opponents, Daniels at Auburn and Wilkins at Georgia - served as inspiration.

"He told me to keep working hard and don't ever let anybody think you can't play," Wilkins said as he prepared to play the Portland Trail Blazers in the Sonics preseason finale. "That meant a lot to me coming from him, because I know the things he accomplished last year were things nobody thought he could do - obviously, because they didn't draft him.

"After talking with him, it helped me look at things in a different way, because I think he felt that my confidence was dwindling a little bit."

For Wilkins, working hard entailed getting in the gym with his father. In this case, Wilkins wasn't battling just any aging ex-athlete. Wilkins' father, Gerald, played 13 seasons in the NBA with New York, Cleveland, Vancouver and Orlando. During the last of those 13 seasons, Wilkins was joined with the Magic by his brother, Dominique, a nine-time NBA All-Star who led the league in scoring during the 1985-86 season at better than 30 points per game.

"I was working with my dad all summer long and he and I were in the gym so much, sometimes twice a day," Wilkins said. "I pretty much devoted my whole summer to this because I knew I had a lot to prove and I knew I had people doubting me. I knew I wanted to come in, wherever it would be, and make a statement. I wanted to play well every time I came out, so I knew how hard I had to work."

Few ever doubted that Wilkins had the skills to join the family business of the NBA. As a junior in high school, Wilkins led his St. John's Prospect Hall (Md.) squad to the USA Today prep championship. Wilkins was hailed as a top recruit before settling on North Carolina State, where he made the All-ACC Freshman team.

But after his sophomore season, Wilkins entered the NBA Draft. When, finding the NBA cooler on him than expected, he attempted to return to N.C. State, he found himself unwanted by Coach Herb Sendek. As a result, Wilkins finished out his NCAA career at his uncle's alma mater, Georgia. A reserve his first year with the Bulldogs, Wilkins moved into the starting five as a senior, but his performance was not overwhelming to NBA scouts.

Wilkins entered the Chicago Pre-Draft Camp a longshot to get drafted, but he played well there, averaging 16.7 points per game. Still, Wilkins' name was not called on Draft night as he watched live at Madison Square Garden. Wilkins moved on, playing summer-league ball for both the Milwaukee Bucks and the Sonics. Again, he starred, leading the Sonics squad with 15.3 points and 2.0 steals per game during the Rocky Mountain Revue, enough to earn him an invitation to training camp.

Once in Seattle for training camp, Wilkins found more inspiration in the number of surprises on the Sonics roster. Of the 13 player who entered camp with guaranteed contracts, two, Rashard Lewis and Ronald "Flip" Murray, were second-round picks. Two more, Reggie Evans and Ibrahim Kutluay, were also undrafted. Overseeing it all is Sonics Coach Nate McMillan, himself a second-round pick by the Sonics.

General Manager Rick Sund likes Seattle's rep as a place where undrafted rookies like Evans and Richie Frahm or second-round picks can go to find a home.

"I think Nate in particular loves those kind of guys, the underdogs that pull out all stops to make a club," Sund said after a recent practice. "We keep them around a little bit longer in training camp, not necessarily with the intention of making the club, but maybe a break comes their way. Richie Frahm, somebody got hurt last year and Richie makes it. Reggie made it. Ansu Sesay made it. I like to, every year, keep one on the roster. It's a nice reputation for your team."

Evans was in the same situation as Wilkins two years ago, making the Sonics as the final player on their roster during 2002 training camp. 88 career starts later, Evans has a definite place in the league, and Wilkins looks up to him.

Wilkins played his way onto the Sonics roster by nearly averaging double-figures during preseason. Chris Covatta/NBAE/Getty

"He told me about how he got here, the road he had to take to get here and it's so admirable because a lot of guys in both he and my positions would have given up a long time ago and not continued to pursue it because it didn't go the way we wanted it to go," Wilkins said.

"He is an extremely hard worker, and he deserves everything he's getting right now. I definitely admire his work ethic, I definitely admire his persistence and perseverance. That's definitely been a lead that I've tried to follow."

Wilkins has set his own example this fall. As in Chicago and the summer league, he's continued to shine during preseason action. Wilkins averaged 9.5 points in seven preseason games, scoring 17 points against both San Antonio and Phoenix and earning a reputation, in the words of McMillan, whose level of play goes up at game time - a gamer, in traditional parlance.

As a result, a week ago, Wilkins heard the words he'd longed to hear - he had made the team.

"When I first found out, Nate told me the deductions that they had made from the roster, he was talking all that line, so I didn't know where the conversation was going," Wilkins said the following day. "I was just sitting there listening. Then he said, 'We're going to keep you.'

"I said, 'Okay.' I was trying to be cool about it, not act like I was too excited, but he just didn't know how I was feeling inside. That was a very proud moment, a release. It was like I lost 100 pounds because I felt like so much weight was lifted off of me at that point.

"I'm just grateful to this organization and this team for giving me the opportunity. I've just got to continue to go out and work as hard as I can and prove to them that I deserve to be here."

Wilkins made his NBA debut last night against the Los Angeles Clippers, scoring three points and grabbing four rebounds in 10 minutes of action. While the outcome wasn't what he was hoping for, Wilkins' emotion was still clear as he recalled the experience.

"Last night was great," Wilkins said. "Every night - preseason, that was great. I was high off of that. Last night, the first regular-season game, was not a game we want to talk too much more about, but it was a great feeling. I was just blown away by how it felt to get out there on the floor and play in front of that many people."

Tomorrow, in front of his father and uncle (who is Vice President of Basketball for the Atlanta Hawks, the Sonics opponent), Wilkins will make his home debut. He will do so as the team's backup shooting guard after Murray was bothered by his strained left quad against the Clippers. The presence of his father will make it a special night for Wilkins.

"That means a whole lot to have him here to see me, and I know it's going to mean a lot to him to see me, finally, on an NBA court," he said. "He's probably going to feel a little old when he's sitting up there watching. I'm excited."

Slightly more than four months after the NBA Draft, it's clear things have gone just fine for Wilkins.

"Things happen for a reason," he said. "I believe strongly that God has a plan for all of us. His plan for me wasn't to get drafted, but I'm here now."