In this one, there’s a unanimous choice.” And the reason why it’s so symbolic is because when you make that choice, that should be a franchise-altering player, a generational changing player. 1 overall since my biological father, Jimmy Walker, in 1967. 1 pick since the Big Dobber, Bob Lanier, early ’70s. in particular, it’s symbolic,” Rose said. Rose’s fellow revelers quickly turned into transient Pistons fans when Ben Wallace, the organization’s representative at the lottery and a stalwart of its last championship team, claimed the top pick. The Pistons entered the lottery tied with the Houston Rockets and the Orlando Magic for the best chance ( 14 percent) to land the No. He thought of Jeanne Rose, his mother, who nurtured and facilitated those dreams with Walker out of the picture and who had died from cancer four months earlier. career and whom Detroit had selected first overall more than 50 years ago. He thought of Jimmy Walker, the man who had given him half of the genes for his N.B.A.

14 and Detroit remained on the board, Rose’s mind drifted. He announced that he would buy shots for the dozens of fans at the bar should his draft lottery prophecy prove accurate.Īs Mark Tatum, the N.B.A.’s deputy commissioner, revealed the draft order in reverse from pick No.

career, but he is a Detroit native and lifelong Pistons fan. Rose never played for the Pistons during his 13-year N.B.A. His Detroit Pistons, Rose decided, would win the lottery for the first time since it was implemented for the 1985 draft, receiving the right to make the first overall pick and an encouraging pathway to re-entering basketball relevancy. It was also the night of the draft lottery, which Rose, the retired small forward, was covering in his role as an analyst for ESPN. Jalen Rose had gathered with basketball fans inside a bar for Game 2 of the N.B.A.’s Western Conference finals between the Phoenix Suns and the Los Angeles Clippers.

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