On Saturday, May 22, a bunch of us hard-working souls at Upper Deck ventured out to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to orchestrate three very important components at this year’s NFL PLAYERS Rookie Premiere Photo Shoot. First, we had to photograph each of the top college draft picks sporting their collegiate jerseys for upcoming football products licensed by NFL PLAYERS and the Collegiate Licensing Company. Next, we had to collect thousands of hard-signed autographs from the 35 participating players to be used as insert cards in the Upper Deck sets. Lastly, we taped each of the players answering questions about their collegiate careers and then asked their opinions on where LeBron James – one of Upper Deck’s exclusive spokesmen who’s considered the most sought-after free agent in the world – might be playing basketball next season.
We had an opportunity to get up close with each of the top college draft picks and solicit their thoughts on everything from their most memorable moments on the football field to what their collegiate programs might be like now that they’re moving on to the professional ranks. But probably the most thought-provoking question we asked each of them was where LeBron James might wind up in uniform next season.
The players’ guesses ranged from James staying in Cleveland to win an eventual championship for his hometown team, to moving out west to play for either the Lakers or Clippers, to going to the New York Knicks to revive the Big Apple’s basketball landscape. Some of the players, like Florida’s Tim Tebow and Notre Dame’s Jimmy Clausen, didn’t venture a guess per se as to which team he might wind up playing for, but did wish James well on his upcoming decision when he becomes an unrestricted free-agent on July 1. If nothing else, the players provide plenty of food for thought for LeBron himself.