The pre-draft process has been a roller coaster ride for Isaiah Evans. When he first elected to enter his name in the NBA Draft, he appeared to be a pretty safe bet as a first-round pick with the potential of strong performances at the Combine and private workouts to push his stock toward the lottery.
Instead, Evans saw his stock slip a bit after an up-and-down performance in Chicago at the Combine, and even had some prognosticators remove him from the first round in their mocks. Now, less than a week away from the draft, Evans just got the clearest sign yet that he'll hear his name called during the first night of the draft.
Per ESPN's Jeremy Woo, Evans was one of four additional players invited to attend the NBA Draft in Brooklyn on Tuesday:
Four more players have earned green room invitations for next week’s draft, per sources:
— Jeremy Woo (@JeremyWoo) June 17, 2026
Isaiah Evans
Allen Graves
Ebuka Okorie
Dailyn Swain
Isaiah Evans receives Green Room invite for the 2026 NBA Draft
Now, just because you get invited to attend the draft doesn't mean you are guaranteed to be a first-round pick. Unfortunately, you see it every year, between both the NFL and NBA Drafts, where a player or two unexpectedly falls out of the first round, creating awkward moments in the green room.
That's further exacerbated now that the NBA has used a two-day draft format since 2024. The first round will take place on Tuesday, with the second round on Wednesday. That means if you are in the green room and you fall out of the first round, you either get a hotel and come back the next day, or you just head home and wait for a phone call.
However, the NBA doesn't like the awkward moments any more than the fans watching. So they try to only invite players they are fairly certain are going to be picked in the first round.
Evans wasn't in the initial wave of draft invitees, but he's earned the invite now. That should signal to him and everyone else that the league is confident that he's going to hear his name called on Tuesday night.
Evans has seen his stock fluctuate a good bit during the pre-draft process, but he has, for the most part, been mocked between No. 20 and 30 by most draft experts.
In ESPN's latest mock draft, Woo projected the Duke star to land with the Atlanta Hawks with the No. 23 pick. Other teams in the 20s that could be suitors for Evans include the Detroit Pistons (No. 21), Philadelphia 76ers (No. 22), New York Knicks (No. 24), Denver Nuggets (No. 26), Minnesota Timberwolves (No. 28), and Dallas Mavericks (No. 30).
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