2022green room

While the origin of the term has been lost to time, it has existed for well over 200 years. Typically, in show business, the Green Room serves as a waiting room and lounge for performers before, during, or after their performances.

In the NBA, the Green Room is a staging area where anticipated draftees often sit with their families and representatives, waiting for their names to be called on draft night. Often positioned in front of or to the side of the podium, once a player hears his name, he will walk to the podium to shake hands and take promotional photos with the NBA commissioner. From there, players often conduct interviews with various media outlets backstage.

The NBA compiles its list of Green Room invites through collective voting by NBA presidents and general managers, who usually vote for who they believe are the top 25 players.

While the Green Room usually signifies a positive experience for most invitees, there have been instances where players have waited much longer than anticipated. The longest wait was in 1983 when Green Room invitee Dereck Whittenburg was selected in the third round, 51st overall.

There have been several variations of the Green Room for the NBA Draft.

In the late '70s, select players were often called to the hotel to take promotional pictures with the NBA commissioner a day or two after the draft concluded. With the advent of cable television, the Green Room evolved to have players in real-time, waiting to hear their name called and then shaking hands with the NBA Commissioner.

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In 2020, the NBA hosted a Virtual Green Room as the COVID pandemic prevented a traditional draft with fans, media, and players attending. To create a similar viewing experience, the NBA partnered with hat manufacturer New Era to provide each potential draftee with an in-home gift locker filled with the hat of all 30 NBA teams.

This way, upon learning which team had drafted them, the player would have the appropriate hat on hand and then broadcast from their homes.