The NBA Draft Combine

Chicago

Illinois

USA

A crowd of journalists and reporters had gathered around the location of the NBA Draft Combine 2026. They were waiting for the prospective young basketball players to show up and perform. They had the all-important job of narrating the proceedings of the draft combine through their respective media houses.

Suddenly, a car pulled up, gently honking at the throngs of reporters, who went into a frenzy and started clicking pictures like crazy. Their behavior, however, was nothing out of the ordinary. It was perfectly justified. The person who had arrived was the one they were all waiting for.

The consensus number one pick (1) of the 2026 NBA Draft, Keon Jordan Jr, had just arrived.

Keon was aware of all the hype and expectations surrounding him. He was also aware that he would have to perform at his peak in the Draft Combine. It was a matter of his pride that he wanted to be the number one pick. It didn’t matter that the number one pick belonged to the least successful teams in NBA history. He just wanted to be picked first. He wanted to be acknowledged as the best player in his draft class.

Most importantly, he wanted to team up with his buddy, Odai Beckham Jr.

Keon exited the car and slowly sauntered into the arena. In the gigantic stadium, he spotted hundreds of other players working out and running drills in practice. His talent radar didn’t show any outstanding players in his draft class.

He looked hard and long at every player he walked by. He could only spot one or two real talents. Most of the aspirants had average or below average talent. Some gave off absolutely no vibe at all.

Keon was so lost in thought, he didn’t notice where he was walking and stumbled into someone blindly. “Watch where you’re going!” he yelled.

“Sorry!” said the guy.

Keon frowned and looked down at the guy. He was pretty small for a basketball player. On observing him further, Keon figured that the guy was from somewhere in Southeast Asia. Most importantly to Keon, the guy gave off absolutely no vibe of talent or natural flair for the game.

“You’ve got a funny accent on you,” he said. “Where are you from?”

The guy grinned. “I’m from Bangalore, India!”

*

“India?” thought Keon out loud. “Do people there really ride elephants to their weddings?” he asked, thinking about the character Apu from his favorite TV show, The Simpsons.

The Indian fellow shook his head. “First of all, that’s super racist. Second, any elephant in a wedding would probably cause people to panic and stampede!”

“Huh,” said Keon, disappointed. “Well, don’t mess around with me. I’m the consensus number one draft pick. So, take my advice and stay out of my way!”

“That’s awesome,” said the Indian fellow. “Hope we can share the court someday!”

“Yeah, whatever,” said Keon dismissively, walking away.

Unbeknownst to him, the guy had now set his sights on him, and was marking him as a target opponent.

*

The physical evaluations of every player soon concluded. Each player had their height, weight, and vertical measured amongst many other parameters. Keon was listed at 7’1 (216 centimeters), 255 pounds (116kg) and had a decent 35 inch vertical. Excellent numbers for a stretch center like him.

The organizers then started to group the players into teams to watch them play some actual basketball at the draft combine and evaluate them. Keon was put on the blue team, while the Indian dude was put on the red team.

Keon felt the eyes of all the organizers on him. He knew that they would be watching his every move. And they would be observing him much harder than other players.

He smiled.

He was ready for this.

*

Keon won the tip-off against the red team’s center quite easily. He was by far one of the tallest players in the draft combine. The team’s point guard, a young fellow called Kent Hyland, dribbled the ball into the opponent’s side, and began the possession.

He quickly and smartly passed the ball to Keon in the low-post (2). Keon backed up against the opponent center, trying to measure his strength. It quickly occurred to him that the guy was quite strong and hence, Keon couldn’t push his way past him.

Keon then pivoted his foot towards the right and faked a pass, forcing his opponent to follow. Quickly as lightning, he pivoted in the other direction, towards his left, and broke free of his defender. He then ran at the hoop to score. Two other defenders quickly came at him. Without hesitation, he leapt into the air and dunked the ball over both of them with such strength that they fell backwards.

The organizers were stunned. It was like the guy wasn’t a rookie, but a seasoned NBA veteran with years of practice and grind under his belt.

“What impressive footwork the guy has!” they marveled.

Keon was well and truly the consensus number one pick.

*

At the end of the first quarter, the blue team led the red team 30-19. Keon was extremely confident of ultimate victory.

But, it wasn’t going to be as easy as he thought.

In the second quarter, he noticed the Indian guy guarding him. “What is he even thinking?” grumped Keon. “He’s a foot shorter than me!”

Keon then noticed the guy’s jersey. He was wearing a jersey numbered 64. Suddenly, Keon felt it. There was something about this guy. Something that stretched far beyond talent.

Keon received a pass from Kent Hyland and went in for what he assumed was an easy dunk over a much shorter player. He swung his empty hands at the basket.

Wait…empty hands?

He startled when he realized that the Indian guy had jumped up, matched his ceiling, and poked the ball out of his hands. He retrieved the stolen ball, and flung a long pass to his teammate for an easy layup at the other end.

Keon was stunned.

“What…just happened?”

He then went to stop the guy on defense. 64 received a pass and stared down Keon. He pump-faked and jab-stepped. Keon didn’t take the bait, however, and guarded him more fiercely than ever.

Suddenly, the guy spun around him and within a millisecond, he wasn’t there. A shocked and visibly startled Keon stared at his back. The guy had used pure speed to bypass Keon’s pressure defense. He then went and scored an easy layup.

“What’s going on?” Keon raged mentally.

Keon once again attacked the Indian fellow on offense. He used his strength to push him out of the way and went up for an easy dunk. But, he felt a crushing force, as though he’d tried to dunk on a wall. He then felt his arms being pushed back by a crushing force.

In absolute bewilderment, he looked up to see the Indian guy had blocked him cleanly with both hands. One of the guys on the red team received the ball and threw a long-distance pass to the Indian guy.

“Not today!” thought Keon.

As number 64 went up for a dunk, Keon shot upwards like a rocket and extended his arms to block the shot. Seeing this, number 64 did not dunk the ball. Keon knew he had succeeded. “Ha!” he thought, pleased with his efforts. “He’s going to come back down and get called for travelling (3), or he’s going to pass it to someone!”

As Keon started to descend, he waited to see what number 64 would do, now that his attempt had been foiled.

Or had it?

“Wait,” thought Keon, now seriously terrified.

“How is he still up in the air?”

Keon had started to fall, but 64 was still hanging in the air. He waited for Keon to go down by a sufficient distance. He then threw down a poster dunk (4), right on top of Keon’s head. Everyone around was absolutely thunderstruck to see a rookie that had thrown down a poster slam on the consensus number one pick. What was even more surprising, however, was how long the guy had stayed in the air.

Unfortunately, 64’s descent was not as pretty as his dunk. The guy landed at an awkward angle, which was followed by a scream of pain. With a wringing feeling in his gut, Keon realized that 64 had twisted his ankle, badly.

Two medics ran onto the court and put 64 on a wheelchair before proceeding to wheel him away to the medical room. The much disheartened guy hung his head sadly. His stat line of 2 points, 1 assist, and 2 blocks was nowhere near impressive. On top of that, he’d gotten himself injured.

The guy’s NBA hopes were probably finished.

*

After the departure of number 64, it appeared that the red team had lost all heart. They were destroyed 98-76 by the blue team. Keon now realized what 64’s presence had meant to his team. He was the guy that they were proud to have on their team, proud of having his back.

His impact on an NBA draft combine team was that high.

But, greater than that was his impact on Keon Jordan Jr.

The consensus number one pick had developed a deep feeling of respect for the guy from halfway around the world.

Keon paid a visit to the medical room to see the guy lying on a bed with a plaster around his left ankle. He was visibly surprised to see Keon. “Hey, number one pick. What’re you doing here?”

“Wanted to check on you. Nobody’s ever dunked on me like that.”

64 turned his head away. “I’ll probably never dunk again. This hurts pretty badly.”

Keon scoffed. “You twisted your ankle. You didn’t get your foot amputated! So stop your melodrama, you Disney Princess!”

64 managed a weak laugh. “Disney Princess?”

Keon laughed as well. “Yeah, the very same!”

“So it’s not that serious of an injury?”

“Nah. It’ll heal.”

“I see.”

“What’s your name, dude?”

Number 64 smiled. “Lokesh Kumar.”

“­Low-Cash Kumar?” Keon was incredulous. “What kind of name is Low-Cash?”

“No! Not Low-Cash! Lo-kesh. Lo-kesh.”

“Alright, Lokesh,” laughed Keon. “I want to ask you something.”

“For the last time, we don’t ride elephants back in India!”

“Idiot, listen!” barked Keon. “I can kind of see you have no basketball talent. It’s fairly obvious. But then, how’d you get that good?”

Lokesh thought hard. “Just hours and hours of training and practice, dude. I’ve probably spent more hours in the gym and on the court working on my game than anyone in that draft combine! I’ve had some really special people help me out. It’s basically just practice and repetitiveness, dude,” he answered.

“So, you worked hard. Now you’re better than people with actual talent.”

Lokesh laughed. “I guess so. But I’ve still got ways to go!”

“Yeah,” replied Keon. “So do I.”

*

After the draft combine, Keon had a question. And he knew who had the answer.

For the first time, he saw them, not as people he knew, but as treasure-troves of experience and knowledge. Possibly the knowledge required to answer his question.

He dialed a number on his phone and waited for an answer.

“Hello?” said Rochelle Jordan, Keon’s mother.

“Hello, mom? Is dad around?” asked Keon.

“Honey!” yelled Rochelle. “It’s Keon! He wants to talk to you.”

“I want to talk to both of you, mom.”

“Oh, okay.” Rochelle was a little surprised. Keon had never wanted to talk to them before.

“Hello, son? We’re here! What do you want?” asked Keon Jordan Sr, his father.

“You were both centers, right? You were actually considered to be good, right? Can you answer something for me?”

“Anything, son.”

Keon Jordan Jr took a deep breath. “How do you guard a player who’s smaller, but much faster than you?”

It was the first time he’d ever asked his parents, or anyone, for advice.

He was now slowly starting to develop something which he never had.

Something totally unexpected of him.

Humility.

Endnotes.

1. Consensus Number One Pick: A player who has been identified by scouts, analysts, and experts to have the maximum possibility of being drafted first overall in the draft.

2. Low-Post: The low post in basketball is a location on the court where players position themselves. It is located just near the basket just above one of either of the low blocks. There is also a location on the court called the high post, which is on the edge of the free throw line.

3. Travelling: Traveling is a violation of the rules that occurs when a player holding the ball moves one or both their feet illegally without dribbling.

4. Poster-Dunk or Posterized: “Posterized” is North American slang derived from an action in the game of basketball, in which the offensive player dunks over a defending player in a play that is spectacular and athletic enough to warrant reproduction in a printed poster.