Ed O'Bannon...

...was a on his way to becoming a great basketball player in the 90s but the NBA wasn't that kind to him. Ed O'Bannon was a McDonalds highschool all american and later attended UCLA where he was the team leader and helped the Bruins win the 1995 NCCA championship. O'Bannon was selected by the New Jersey Nets 9th overall in the 1st round of the 1995 draft. He entered the league with high expectations but was unable to take on the NBA and only lasted 3 seasons. Unfortunately Ed O'Bannon is now considered one of the biggest draft busts of all time.

This post isnt about O'Bannon as a player but better yet a vintage story. A couple years back I bought a vintage NETS starter jacket (new with tags) for like $20. The jacket showed up in the mail a couple days later and when I opened it I saw some writing on the inside. At first I was kinda mad because I didnt know what it was and the seller didnt say anything about it. After a closer look I relized it was Ed O'Bannon's autograph from his 1995 draft day selection. Back in the 90s after a player got drafted he threw on the snapback hat, held up a starter jacket and took a pic with the commishioner. So with all that said I believe this is one of the draft day jackets that he signed and somehow 23 yrs later I ended up with it :-)