NBA Draft 2013 Green Room Invites: Breaking Down Attendees to Thursday's Event

The NBA has decided which pro prospects will be invited to Thursday's draft. 

According to ESPN Insider Chad Ford, the league has issued 10 preliminary invitations to the "green room" on Thursday, where players can sit with their families and agent while waiting for their name to be called. 

The first 10 players to be invited to the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, are Nerlens Noel of Kentucky, Indiana's Victor Oladipo, Otto Porter of Georgetown, Alex Len of Maryland, UNLV's Anthony Bennett, Ben McLemore of Kansas, Trey Burke of Michigan, Syracuse's Michael Carter-Williams, C.J. McCollum of Lehigh and Cody Zeller of Indiana. 

Ford indicates that the NBA typically expands their list of draft-day attendees past the initial 10, and this year should be no exception as these players might still be invited:

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Typically, the NBA has invited 13-to-15 players. This year, the league has told a number of agents it may add a few names to the list as the draft approaches.

Several others players, including Georgia's Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Pittsburgh's Steven Adams, UCLA's Shabazz Muhammad, Russia's Sergey Karasev, Gonzaga's Kelly Olynyk and Greece's Giannis Antetokounmpo, could be extended invites."

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But for now, only 10 players have received invitations, and they're the same 10 players who top Ford's big board. 

Despite the coincidence, the NBA doesn't use mock drafts or expert analysis to decide who to invite. In fact, Ford's report states that general managers from across The Association are polled to see which players are most likely to be taken with lottery picks. 

If your name comes up in polls from NBA GMs, that is surely a promising sign. But there's no guarantee for any of these players. 

In other sports, we've seen the humiliation and embarrassment that can come from waiting too long in the green room (via Los Angeles Times). For the sake of these youngsters, hopefully none of them have to experience that.

Noel, Zeller, Burke and company might be focusing more on what spiffy suit they'll sport for their big day, but nothing can compare to walking up on that stage and shaking the commissioner's hand when your name is called.