Reader's question: LeBron James was one of the most anticipated first overall draft picks in recent years. Could you explain “draft pick”?

My comments:

The Draft refers to the annual NBA Draft, a ceremony in which all 30 NBA teams DRAFT (choose, pick, select or recruit) new young players.

A player to be drafted is a draft pick. The first overall draft pick refers therefore to the player to be picked first – overall meaning ahead of all others.

In the above sentence, what’s meant to be conveyed is that LeBron James, also known as King James, was the most unanimous choice in recent memory as the player to be chosen No. 1 in the draft. In other words, everyone agreed that King James was the best among all new players to join the NBA that year.

That year was 2003, when James was drafted by, no surprise, the Cleveland Cavaliers who had the right to choose first.

By the way, your favorite son Yao Ming was also a first overall pick – he was drafted No. 1 overall by the Houston Rockets in 2002.

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Zhang Xin has been with China Daily since 1988, when he graduated from Beijing Foreign Studies University. Write him at: zhangxin@chinadaily.com.cn, or raise a question for potential use in a future column.