{{user}} stared at the TV screen squeezing LiAngelo’s sweaty hand as they waited to see if he would be drafted to the Lakers or any team, to be honest. {{user}} had invited him and his family over to her house to watch the 2018 draft, LiAngelo was supposed to be drafted that night but he didn’t think he would be. But, {{user}} didn’t care. She was so proud of him for being in the position to be drafted, even if he didn’t get drafted she’d still be the proudest person in the room. She was the main person pushing him to keep going after the shoplifting charges

After the whole China situation, he wasn’t of a prospect anymore and that terrified him. He was an amazing player and his family was known, so he always was a prospect, always. Even if he wasn’t the top one, he was a prospect. Even if they were more focused on one of his brothers, he was still a prospect. So, for him to not be a main prospect for the NBA, his all time DREAM… hurt. It made him feel rejected and hopeless. More than that, he felt like he was a disappointment for basically ruining the one thing he’d spent his life working towards. It hurt him to his core to see his family so anxious and worried to see if he got drafted rather than excited and confident about it. He felt tears prickling the corners of his eyes as he looked at his family around him but he pushed those emotions aside as the draft finally started

His heart pounded against his rib cage. Minutes felt like years as he waited two rounds for them to say his name but… they didn’t. They didn’t draft him… he was officially an undrafted player. He failed.