For the rest of the night, as Silver continues to welcome first-rounders, Ingram gets taken to the NBA's high-tech social media station, which featured a snapchat session, Vine session and GQ Instagram session; and Ingram notes he'd use his favorite song "Lockjaw" by Kodak Black and French Montana, if he were to turn it into a music video.
"That's my boy," Ingram shouts in the background as his good friend, Jamal Murray of Kentucky goes No. 7 to the Denver Nuggets.
By the end of the night, Ingram has more than 100 congratulatory text messages from friends and family. One of them is from his mentor, ex-NBA player Jerry Stackhouse, who coached Ingram's AAU team. Another is Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who Ingram says influenced him with his determination as a coach.
"Even Coach K thinks he can be a better coach each and every day," Ingram says. "So if he thinks that, I can definitely be a better basketball player. You're always becoming; you've never arrived. And I use that day by day just for me to work hard each and every day, and know that no matter how good I worked out today, no matter how good I thought I was today, I can always get better and always be a better person."
Growing up, Ingram was always looking up to others. His older brother, Donovan, played basketball at UT-Arlington and let a young Brandon play with older kids. Once he got to Duke, he'd draw portraits of NBA stars he idolized like Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul. And now he's got several statues — including Magic Johnson — outside Staples Center plus the Kobe Bryant legacy barely in the rear-view mirror.
For Ingram, that's exactly how he wants it. The Hollywood-sized expectations, that is. "It gives you motivation," he says.
After all, Ingram will have his late aunt's fear of suffering adage to keep him motivated in Los Angeles.
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