On the night where his future was supposed to be laid out before him in the NBA Draft, one basketball prospect showed up all blinged out for the big event – only to not hear his name called.
Duke guard Isaiah Evans wore a custom blue suit to the NBA’s annual entry event in Brooklyn, New York.
But it wasn’t the special-made lining paying homage to his high school that attracted the most attention: it was his accessories.
Evans walked out wearing a bejeweled brooch and a flashy wallet chain to add some style to his outfit.
But the accessories cost a pretty penny. According to the New York Post, the brooch cost $3million and the chain cost an additional $1million.
Despite the bespoke pieces – made in collaboration with celebrity jeweler Jason of Beverly Hills – Evans shockingly slid out of the first round of the draft.
Basketball prospect Isaiah Evans threw together an expensive outfit for the NBA Draft
Evans wore a ruby-centered brooch and diamond wallet chain that combined to value at $4m
Evans was projected to be a top-20 selection in this year’s draft and was invited to ESPN’s green room while sitting in the front row with a gold basketball emblazoned with his name.
But after the Dallas Mavericks selected Arizona forward Koa Peat with the 30th overall pick, it meant that Evans’ expensive outfit was all for naught.
The brooch featured a 45-carat pigeon blood ruby in the center and was surrounded by six karats worth of white diamonds.
‘There’s never been a brooch that’s made at this level for any NBA draft history,’ Jason told the outlet.
‘And then on top of that, we went with a wallet chain that has over 170 carats of diamonds.’
Evans says he met the jeweler through a mutual friend and worked with him for nearly a year on these pieces.
‘I think it represents me well,’ Evans said of his accessories, adding, ‘Me and Jason have a pretty cool relationship.’
The jeweler says that the two pieces combine to form the most expensive fit in NBA history.
But by night’s end, Evans did not hear his name called in the first round of the draft
‘I’ve been doing this for 22 years, and you’re so used to a lot of NBA draftees getting drafted and wearing big medallions with their initials on it and big earrings,’ Jason told the Post.
‘I think what we wanted to do was to bring a little bit of a different energy to the draft with Isaiah, and we sat down with him months ago, and we had this vision of bringing the Met Gala to the NBA draft. I wanted it to have a very royal vibe to it… it’s unique and timeless.’
Evans will need to wait a whole other day to hear his name called as the NBA Draft’s second round begins at 8:00pm on Wednesday night.
