Ask any NBA player about the fondest memories of his basketball career, and there's a good chance he'll be talking to you about the night he was drafted into the game's best league.

After toiling on the playground as a kid, playing high school ball in a sweaty gymnasium and spending countless hours practicing to go head-to-head with his peers at the college level, a player realizes a lifelong dream on the night he learns he will play in the NBA.

"Draft day, it’s hard to put into words what that day was like," said Wilson Chandler, whom the Knicks selected out of DePaul with the 23rd pick in last year's draft. "For me, I didn’t know if I was going to go in the first round or in the second. But I came up to see the experience and to see what it would be like on draft day, to be at The Garden and to see David Stern. When my name was called, my heart just stopped. It was the best day of my life. My family was happy. My friends were happy."

Chandler and his Knicks teammates remember the pre-draft and draft-day experience as an exhilarating and emotional roller-coaster ride.

"It was kind of nerve-racking not knowing where you’re going to go and what team is going to pick you," said Chandler. "But while it is nerve-racking, it's exciting to see what's going to happen. The day comes, and you are just really excited, and when you finally get picked, for me, it was just one of the best days of my life."

Nate Robinson agreed that the uncertainty in the moments leading up to the draft was terrifying and exciting at the same time.

"I was real nervous, because I didn't know where I was going to go,” said Robinson, who played at the University of Washington. "They (draft pundits) had a mock draft saying this, and other people saying that. I didn't even fall into it. I was just going to go into it and let my game do the talking."

Robinson had a different experience than Chandler's, because he was selected 21st overall in 2005 by the Phoenix Suns and then immediately dealt to the Knicks.

"It was different for me, being traded right away," he said, "But I was happy. I was just drafted into the NBA, but then my agent said don't be too happy yet and get set with going to Phoenix, because you are going to get traded to New York. And I was even more thrilled by that, coming to a franchise like the Knicks. That's something special for anyone who plays basketball. So I was happy -- happy to be here and happy to be drafted."

Knicks scoring leader Jamal Crawford, who spent the first years of his NBA career in Chicago, also has vivid draft memories.

The Cleveland Cavaliers had named Crawford, a slender freshman guard out of the University of Michigan, as the eighth overall selection of the 2000 draft. Crawford's tenure with the Cavs was short-lived, however, because like Robinson, he was immediately dealt to the Bulls for Chris Mihm.

"I was drafted by Cleveland, and it was weird because I never worked out for them," Crawford recalled. "I had only talked to them after I was drafted, but there was already a deal that was worked out with me to go for Chicago.

"All the cameras came at me and I was so happy, it was overwhelming. I was ecstatic when I was traded to Chicago. That was the team I wanted to go to at that particular time. Mr. (Jerry) Krause does a great job evaluating talent and developing it, so I was flattered and it meant a lot to me."

Mardy Collins was selected by the Knicks out of Temple with the 29th overall pick in the 2006 draft, and while he wasn't traded on draft day, he also admits to biting his nails throughout the evening.

"It was a tough situation," said Collins. "For me, in my draft class, everything was all over the place. No one knew who was going where. I was projected to go anywhere from 10th overall to the second round. It was a tough process, and I was most definitely nervous on draft day. I didn't know where I was going to end up at. I mean, it's a big day for a guy who wants to go pro."

While the individual workouts in the weeks leading up to the draft are intensive and exhausting, they do play a large role in deciding where a player ends up getting drafted.

"The workouts were tough," said Collins. "You're flying around from state to state, going to different cities to work out and try your best to impress. It is a lot of pressure, and they make you do a lot. There's a lot of shooting, drills, everything. It's just basketball and you've got to show what you've got. When it was finally over with, I was more than happy with how I did, but most of all, I was happy because of where I ended up.”

Robinson viewed pre-draft workouts as a chance for scouts to measure his value compared to others in his draft class.

"I was nervous, but the workouts were an opportunity to better my chances in the draft," Robinson said. "I was going one-on-one with other guys I wanted to show that I was better than, and it was a heavy workout. It was a competition, and I looked at it like I was climbing up the ladder. I was climbing up the mountain, trying to knock guys off as I went up. So that's just something I tried to do and tried to focus on. But I also made sure I was having fun. That was important. I wanted to have fun, play hard, and let my game do the talking. I kept my energy up, and I guess the coaches fell in love with it."

On Thursday night, after weeks of workouts, months of preparation and years of training, another group of 30 young NBA hopefuls will feel the emotional highs and lows of the NBA Draft.

By the end of the evening on Thursday, these talented young players will finally know their pro basketball fates. One thing, however, is already certain for all of them.

It's an experience they will never, ever forget.