On the first road trip of his NBA career, in the fall of 2001, Etan Thomas looked out the window of the Washington Wizards’ team bus and was stunned by the massing crowd around the hotel.
He asked Christian Laettner, the veteran forward: "Is this how the NBA is?”
Laettner laughed. "No, young fella,” he said. "This isn’t for us. They’re here for M.J.”