They listen to Drew introduce himself, and then respond in unison with: ''Hi, John. Welcome.'' Like the others, John Drew lied to his family and his friends - and to himself - about his habit. And like them, he went to great lengths to satisfy his dependency. Also like them, he has a story to tell, one of fear and dependency. And he wants to tell it every day.

''I'm a very happy person,'' he says to them. ''And I want to let people know that what happened to me can happen to them. But I also want them to realize that they can get what I have now if they do what I did. But there are no shortcuts.''

Later that evening, Drew would score a game-high 33 points in a triumph over San Antonio, the leader of the Midwest Division. But such events are just minor triumphs in contrast to the one he relates to his companions on this afternoon.

''I was in Phoenix,'' he began, speaking in a tone that reflected the fear of that moment, ''and after a game, this guy - he used to be a friend of mine - came up and told me he'd heard about what I had done, the treatment. He said, 'That's great, man. Let's go celebrate. I've got a gram of coke.' I was so scared, I started shaking. I went right to a phone and called an A.A. contact in the city. He helped me through it.''

When Drew repeated the story to a companion, he added this: ''You can do drugs for a while and get away with it. You can play for a while, too. But eventually, it'll get you. It'll be fine for a while. But at the end, you'd rather be dead. Before I go back to it, I'll kill myself. I'd rather be dead than go through that again.''

According to Drew - and several other players - there are others in the N.B.A. who are experiencing this kind of pain. ''I think there's a problem,'' says the two-time all-star. ''Now, I'm not talking about the league, or anybody, because I think they're doing the best they can. But if something's not done, someone's gonna get into a lot of trouble, possibly get hurt. A lot of players won't be as lucky as I was.''

Drew would not say who among his peers - or what percentage - are abusing cocaine. But he said that ''a lot of athletes do drugs and do drink.'' Then he added: ''Some of them have problems and they just don't know how to deal with them.''