Things tend to get a bit silly late in the second round of the NBA Draft, and the 2017 edition was no exception.
As is customary, numerous reporters, generally led early on by The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski, tweeted out upcoming selections well ahead of when they were announced on stage. That continued in the second round, with Wojnarowski’s colleague, Shams Charania, spoiling numerous picks before deputy commissioner Mark Tatum was able to announce them.
As the arena began to thin out, a few fans at Barclays Center pulled out their phones and checked Twitter — and decided they, too, could beat Tatum to the punch.
Something great is happening. The crowd is calling out the picks before deputy commish Mark Tatum can, he's hearing them, and laughing.
— Tania Ganguli (@taniaganguli) June 23, 2017
Tatum openly cracked up upon hearing one fan scream out No. 52 pick Edmond Sumner’s name — a selection that had been shared on social media by Charania.
#NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum can't contain his laughter when a fan announces the 52nd pick before he does. #NBADraft pic.twitter.com/M30FzDhANe
— Jake Russell (@_JakeRussell) June 23, 2017
The group doing it seemed to be having the time of their lives.
The fans at Barclays Center are announcing picks before Mark Tatum can pic.twitter.com/YLkvOubGTh
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) June 23, 2017
Twitter users have gotten used to picks in both the NBA and NFL Drafts being spoiled before their official announcement, though the NFL has taken steps in the past to raise the suspense for TV viewers. This is probably the first time it’s happened to those in the arena, though.
