Cason Wallace reportedly receives invite to 2023 NBA Draft green room

When Cason Wallace‘s name is called by Adam Silver and his professional career officially begins, the former Kentucky guard will step right up to the stage and personally shake hands with the NBA commissioner.

According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Wallace has received an invite to sit down with his friends and family in the green room during the 2023 NBA Draft, which is scheduled for Thursday, June 22 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. Wallace is one of 19 draft prospects that Givony notes have received an invite to the green room, which is where prospects expected to go in the first round of picks all sit and wait to hear their names called.

The vast majority of mock drafts have Wallace going in the first round of this year’s draft, with many outlets tabbing him as a potential lottery pick. Last week, ESPN projected Wallace to the Los Angeles Lakers with the No. 17 pick.

A 2nd batch of nine NBA Draft green room invites was sent out today, multiple sources told ESPN:

Bilal Coulibaly
Cason Wallace
Nick Smith
Dereck Lively
Kobe Bufkin
Jalen Hood-Schifino
Jett Howard
Jordan Hawkins
Keyonte George

All top-19 of ESPN's top-100 were invited thus far. https://t.co/YF5Ze2cfms pic.twitter.com/YBb8Awb12Z

— Jonathan Givony (@DraftExpress) June 13, 2023

Wallace, who was a five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American out of high school, spent just one season at Kentucky before declaring for the NBA Draft on April 1. The 6-foot-4 combo guard was tabbed to the SEC All-Freshman Team after putting up averages of 11.7 points, 3.7 rebounds, 4.3 assists, and 2.0 steals in 32.2 minutes per outing. The Texas native shot 44.6 percent from the field, 34.6 percent from deep, and 75.7 percent from the free throw line across 32 games (all starts) for the ‘Cats.

Since John Calipari arrived as UK’s head coach in 2009, Kentucky players have been a constant in the NBA Draft green room. Most recently, former Wildcats Shaedon Sharpe (No. 7; Portland Trail Blazers) and TyTy Washington (No. 29; Houston Rockets) represented Kentucky in the green room last year during the 2022 NBA Draft.

The 2023 NBA Draft will begin at 8:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, June 22 on ESPN.