Two decades have passed since a pro basketball draft attracted so much in the way of hoopla, headlines and hope.
It was 2003, and there was no doubt the Cleveland Cavaliers would use the No. 1 pick on LeBron James, a generational talent from nearby Akron, Ohio, who would arrive to help rebuild the franchise. The city reached a frenzy with James on board — especially when he took a team that was 17-65 the season before his arrival to the NBA Finals in his fourth year.
The scene is being repeated in Indianapolis, where excitement has reached, well, a fever pitch, as the Indiana Fever will — barring an unfathomable change of direction — select Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark with the No. 1 overall pick in the WNBA draft Monday night.