June 23, 2016 was the night of the NBA draft, when Fred VanVleet was coming off his senior year at Wichita State. VanVleet was named the Missouri Valley Conference’s player of the year twice, and his team had made four straight appearances in March Madness, including a run to the Final Four in his freshman season. His team went 9-4 in the tournament during his tenure there.



VanVleet was a huge part of his school’s turnaround — Wichita State had won just eight total tournament games before his arrival. Still, the ever-present criticisms surrounded VanVleet that night, and during the weeks and months that led up to it: too slow, too short, not a good enough shooter, not meticulously sculpted. Despite all of his accolades, VanVleet was not going to be a first-round pick. Regardless, he rented out a bar in his hometown of Rockford, Illinois, and hosted a draft party.



The dream of any NBA player looking to get drafted is to hear his name called by the...