Christian Wood wore a fancy suit with a pocket square. He and his family rented out a posh lounge of the Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. The night of June 25 belonged to him.
The UNLV product had declared for the NBA Draft two months earlier by publishing a four-minute documentary to YouTube. Wood, a 6-foot-11 power forward, expected to be a first-round choice. It was not a matter of if Wood would be drafted, it just a matter of when it would happen.
But it never did. Wood ended his draft party devastated. A picture of him with his head in his hands went viral.