December 11, 2003 - Heading into an early season matchup with the only member of the 2003 draft class selected ahead of him (LeBron James), 18-year-old Detroit Pistons center Darko Milicic had yet to officially register an NBA basket. Twenty-two games into the 2003-04 season, Milicic had made just eight appearances (approximately 17 cumulative minutes of action) and was 0-3 from the field.
Of course, Milicic was also the only member of the 2003 NBA Draft Lottery to be selected and immediately stashed on the bench for the duration of his rookie campaign. Under the unique circumstances of being a No. 2 overall pick on an Eastern Conference Finalist competing for an NBA championship at a time when the G-League (then known as the NBDL) was in its infancy, Milicic was caught in basketball purgatory, not experienced enough to meaningfully contribute to a championship contender but with nowhere to go in order to further develop his craft.
Even with all that said, Milicic's body language following his missed puppy tells you everything you need to know about the state of his transition from teenage Serbian wunderkind drafted ahead of the likes of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade, and Steve Blake to bench-warming import impatiently waiting his turn.
For the record, Milicic played four minutes the following evening and this time succeeded in scoring his first NBA basket in a 21-point loss to the Seattle SuperSonics.
Recommended 20-minute Mini-Doc on Milicic: https://vimeo.com/254213884
Pistons-Cavs Box Score: https://www.basketball-reference.com/boxscores/200312110CLE.html
LeBron James' highlights vs. Pistons: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2esWQtFxWwg&ab_channel=RyanVanDusen
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