It seems fitting that the first NBA draft lottery I’m covering for NBC Sports Chicago will be held in Secaucus, N.J., on Thursday night.
That’s where the Chicago Tribune flew me, year after year, as I served as that newspaper’s beat writer for the wandering-in-the-wilderness seasons that followed the dynasty. For a while, league executives jokingly referred to me as the Helen Thomas of the draft lottery, a nod to the celebrated journalist who covered 10 presidential administrations and typically asked the first question at White House press briefings.
Exit 16E of the New Jersey Turnpike, I know it well.