The Legacy of 'The Hat Lady': Green-Room Reflections from an NBA Draft Icon
"The godmother of the NBA."
That's how former player Roger Mason Jr., now the National Basketball Players Association's deputy executive director, refers to Chrysa Chin, who worked for the union and then the league spanning more than 20 years. Chin—who says she has "pretty much" every player's number in her phone—is viewed by her peers as the league's life coach. Her work starts every year at the draft, helping the newbies navigate their new landscape.
"I think, most importantly, is I bring information and resources to help players accomplish whatever they want to accomplish," Chin said. "So players know if they call and share something with me, there's going to be some value added to that conversation."
TOP NEWS
Smart's Blunt Game 1 Assessment
Vanderbilt Suffers Brutal Finger Injury
Players' Picks for Most Overrated, Underrated
Chin has been a landmark at every draft since 1998, during which she was a league executive. Affectionately known as "The Hat Lady," one of her key roles through the years has been doling out hats to the green-room invitees when their names are called. While she'll be in the green room once again this year helping players and their families with the rookie transition, it will mark the end of her hat duties, as she's now with the players association as an executive under Michele Roberts' new leadership.
Reflecting on her legacy through the years, Chin took Bleacher Report inside the green-room experience, while sharing her favorite draft-night memories and the impact they had on her life. The conversation below is presented from her perspective and edited for clarity and length.
In 1998, a year after I became the first female to be named to a managerial position in the NBA's player development department, I became known as "The Hat Lady." Giving out hats had been a function of the department, and I took that over starting in the 1998 draft. That year was really exciting. I was trying to master the timing—getting guys on time to the stage, the whole TV production aspect of it—and figuring out what guys were really experiencing then.
Once they arrive at the draft, you get everybody adjusted and oriented. They're sitting and taking a lot of pictures, and some are asking when their families are arriving because they come over separately. When you're in that green room with those families and those players, it's very emotional, and it's very joyous, because this is a time where everything changes.
It's not just about what the financial reward is going to be. Every one of the players has worked so hard to get to this point, and now this has been the dream. This is what they've wanted to do. So it's here, and it's becoming a reality. Overall, my thing to the players is always, "Whatever happens tonight, you will go away having been drafted to an NBA team, so all is well."
During the draft, I'm going from table to table just making sure everybody is comfortable. I'm also checking to see where the players are sitting, so I can make sure—once their name is called—I can get them their hat quickly and to the stage without an incident, because it's live television. There are a lot of questions being asked from the families. Even though we review what the night is going to be like, it's in the moment, so families often want to know things that make the most sense, like, "After his name is called, when do we see him again?" That all has to do with the media circuit.
Sometimes, you may see me talking to a family because the player is going to be traded. The hat stories are pretty consistent because this is the families' way of documenting their sons' journeys. So even though a player may get traded, they often want to keep the first hat because it's the first hat. Sometimes, there's a scramble to find a hat because we're running low on them for a particular team. But we always promise families that we'll get them additional hats later.
Lisa Piken Koper, the NBA's vice president of licensing, helps manage the production of the hats. She and I actually had a chuckle over the NBA Finals about the hats. She's like, "You're not going to do it this year!" We laughed. It's something that we all kind of bonded over—just those memories, the experience, the rush, the adrenaline.
My favorite hat change was when the NBA introduced a softer material, because it sort of took the shape of your head. I thought that was a nice look and probably as close to fitted as one could get. But the hats don't come in one size because you don't know who's going to be chosen. They are adjustable.
While I'm not involved in the hat design, I stick to what I know, and that is how it should be worn after a player's name is called. As I tell them all, "Make sure it's above your eyebrows and let us see your pretty smile."
In 2003, when Carmelo Anthony got his hat, he was joking with me, trying to turn the hat a different way to the left or the right. He just went with the hat off center a little bit just to tease me. And I said, "Turn that hat around right now!" People could see me on television talking to him. After, they were like, "What were you saying to him?" It's those kinds of moments that make the draft special.
In 1999, I remember when Steve Francis came up to me months after the draft, which was my second. I thought he might not remember me because so much time had lapsed, but he said, "How could I forget you? You gave me my hat!" That helped make me realize how special my job was.
Another standout was in 2000, when Mateen Cleaves was drafted. It was hilarious. I was escorting him to the stage, and he wasn't going to let go of me. And I'm like, "No, you've got to go by yourself!" He was so happy and celebrating, and he wasn't thinking about it.
It's always funny when I give a tall player a hat. We always joke about my height. I say, "I'm a footer, too, but a 5-footer." I think the tallest player I gave a hat to was Pavel Podkolzin in 2004. He was 7'5", and that was amazing.
Last year was incredible. Andrew Wiggins' dad was a former player, Jabari Parker's dad was a former player, and they were wondering who's going to go first. The fact that they both are now continuing the legacy of their fathers is amazing. It was also very emotional because of Isaiah Austin and having the opportunity to draft him to an NBA team, after he was diagnosed with Marfan syndrome.
Thinking about it now, it was just incredible to be a part of that and to chat with his mother, Lisa, who's a wonderful woman. He has a great road ahead of him. There was not a dry eye in the green room, including mine. That resonated with me, applauding just his resilience and strength to walk on that stage. That moment will always be etched in my heart.
In that moment, I thought of when I was diagnosed with lymphoma before the 2007 draft. But I still attended, after going through my second of six treatments. After the draft, players sent me cards, and they wanted to come check up on me. It was amazing.
Isaiah also represents those players who are at the draft but sitting in the audience. I don't want to ever leave them out because they've traveled to be a part of this. And I want them to have the same experience walking up to the stage and shaking the commissioner or the deputy commissioner's hand, and going through the media circuit and taking pictures. I tell them, "Whether you went exactly where you thought you were going or not, it doesn't matter, because now is the beginning of your professional career."
My uncle, Chuck, was a big sports fan, so he got a big kick out of me being at the draft. He taped every one that I participated in, and he would call me afterward and say, "I've got you on tape!" It was adorable. He loved watching it with my aunt, Gloria. He did all the taping for the family, and he called everyone to make sure they knew I was on television that night. He wanted everybody to watch.
Chuck passed away this year. He was 85. But he saw the last draft that I walked with the hats. He was just an amazing family man, just centered on everything you did. He wanted you to be successful. He was there to cheer you on and root for you.
This year, I will still be in the green room as needed, assisting families with questions. Different employees from the NBA's player development department will continue the hat distribution. It's funny—some of this year's prospects at the Chicago combine came up to me and said, "Are you going to give me my hat?" They were upset because I wasn't going to be giving them their hat. I thought that was adorable. They really watch the draft, and they know me as that. I said, "We can re-enact it, how about that?"
It was one of the most rewarding parts of my job, but what I'm doing now with the players union is in many ways just as rewarding. Anytime that you have an opportunity to help players transition into the NBA, maintain while they're here and then transition out of the league, that's the reward, knowing that they have a safe place to go to in their life.
The draft is only the beginning. The draft is exciting, I'm excited for them, but I'm even more excited about the rest of their journey. Watching them evolve and become the professional that they set out to be, while being a part of their maturation on and off the court—that's the most rewarding part.
.png?w=600 "Who Will Panthers Take at No. 9 ? 🤔")
