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USA TODAY's David DuPree recalls highlights of the NBA draft during the newspaper's 25 years:

Toss up — 1983

USA TODAY covered the last two years of the coin toss — when the top overall pick was decided by a coin toss between the teams that had the worst record in each conference. The Houston Rockets won the toss in 1983 and took 7-4 center Ralph Sampson, who went on to become rookie of the year. But the Rockets finished last in the West, won the coin toss again in 1984 and drafted 7-0 Hakeem "The Dream" Olajuwon. The die was cast, as practically every team sought to copy the Twin Towers strategy.

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LOS ANGELES — Yi Jianlian (pronounced yee chon-len), the likely top-10 NBA draft pick from China, is billed as the next Yao Ming, but don't be fooled.

He's 7 feet tall, 247 pounds and quite an athlete, more akin to a power or small forward than a center such as the Houston Rockets' Yao at 7-6, 310.

Yi is quicker, faster and much springier. He's an excellent shooter up to 18-20 feet and can hit three-pointers, too.

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OAKLAND -- And with the 18th pick in the first round of the 2007 NBA draft, the Golden State Warriors select ...

Ah, forget it. Who do you think I am, a hoops psychic or one of those 10 million or so self-appointed experts with mock drafts on the Internet?

It was tough enough to predict the Warriors' first pick when they lived in lottery land. Now that they've made the playoffs and dropped to the middle of the draft pack, pinpointing their first-round pick Thursday is harder than guarding Tony Parker after a night on the town with Dennis Rodman and Snoop Dogg.

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LeBron James needed only four years to reach the NBA finals. Tim Duncan was a champion in half that time.

So how many seasons will it take Greg Oden to play for his first title?

"I hope one," Oden said with a smile during the finals.

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PLEASANTON _-- The parade staging area at Amador Valley High School was a circus Saturday morning. Between the bands, giant balloons, hot rods, hula-dressed square-dancers and storm troopers, it wasn't clear what exactly was going on.

But when asked, they all had the same explanation: They wanted to show their best to Alameda County residents who had lined Main Street for the annual Fair Parade.

The fair marks its 95th anniversary this summer, but the city of Piedmont -- celebrating 100 years -- crashed the party. The city's float featured a 10-foot-tall birthday hat sitting on top of a pickup cab and towed a 6-foot-tall cake. The float shot bubbles into the air and had a retractable party favor under its hood.

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