The rookie standouts in the draft class of 2015 was in attendance to take some dope shots for the trading card company known as Panini
Last Saturday, the NBA and Panini partnered up to host the 2015 Rookie Photoshoot in Tarrytown, NY. The event took place in the New York Knicks/Liberty training center and it featured the top 40 rookie draft picks from the 2015 NBA Draft. Entering into their 7th year as the NBA’s exclusive trading card partner, Panini was on board to give the media and fans a behind the scene look of the set up they used to capture the NBA’s top rookies in their upcoming 2015-2016 authentic Adidas NBA uniform. Amongst the rookies who were in uniform to make a appearance in front of the public were Karl-Anthony Towns, D’Angelo Russell, Jahlil Okafor, Kristaps Porzingis, Justise Winslow, Frank Kaminsky, Sam Dekker, Willlie Cauley-Stein, Dakari Johnson, Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, James Anderson, Montrezl Harrell and many more.
The Source Sports own Omari White was able to catch up with D’Angelo to talk life after college, getting ready for the NBA and his favorite music he loves to listen to. He believes that the artist he compares his game to is Dreamville’s own J. Cole. He believes that Cole World is a real dude, down to earth, he never lies to his fans and the media. He recognized his work ethic in which he started from the bottom and has worked his way to be regarded as one of the top emcee’s in the game. These are things that relates to Russell as he is ready to put in the work to become the man in Tinseltown once Kobe’s time is up.
Former national champion Jahlil Okafor lets the media know that whenever he gets into game mode, he listens to Chi-town’s own Chance The Rapper and Sam Smith. He also reminds the media that his growth in his game has been continuously improving since the Summer League have ended.
Meanwhile, Jahlil’s college teammate Justise Winslow of the Miami Heat vibes out to A$AP Rocky, Dom Kennedy, Jay-Z, Travis Scott, Rick Ross. He compared his game to A$AP Rocky due to the fact that Winslow, a native out of Houston, TX, realizes that the style of music A$AP releases is Houston based but does a excellent job of maintaining his New York style he grew up towards. Justise believe that with his style of play which can be filled with flashiness, fashionable, highlight reel type of play can be transitioned off the court as he possess a different kind of swagger that Heat fans will enjoy.
Former Kentucky Wildcat Willie Cauley-Stein displays his freak of nature athleticism with this dope pose which should be debuting as a card to NBA fans nationwide. Cauley-Stein’s transition to the pro level has been smooth thanks to the playing and coaching style of Coach Cal. When the big man formerly known as “Wille Trill” is not turning up to artists like Future, hes on the court soaking in all the information needed to be come even more efficient for his ball club.
First overall pick Karl-Anthony Towns and his college teammate Devin Booker took some time out to catch up and joke around in front of other players along with the media. No love lost as these former Wildcat greats continue to express nothing but love amongst one another during the entire photo shoot.
Omari White
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Photography Credit: Dave White Photography
