The Associated Press

NEW YORK - LeBron James was chosen No. 1 in the NBA draft Thursday night and strode onstage wearing an all-white suit, appropriate garb for a player expected to be the savior of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

LeBron James shakes hands with NBA Commissioner David Stern. (Associated Press photo) | ZOOM |

James, the 18-year-old prep phenom from Akron, hugged his agent, Aaron Goodwin, then turned and did the same to his mother, Gloria, before pulling on a Cavaliers cap and shaking the hand of commissioner David Stern.

"I just think I look pretty good in all white," said James, whose suit was custom-made by a Charlotte fashion designer.

The most heralded high school player of a generation, James is considered a can't-miss prospect with the skills of a guard, the body of a forward and the potential of a superstar.

James turned to the audience and beamed a wide smile, although the audience at Madison Square Garden didn't exactly embrace him. Many in the raucous crowd were already busy chanting "Fire Lay-den" - a reference to general manager Scott Layden of the hometown Knicks.

"It was great. This is a longtime dream - to finally accomplish this," James said.

Serbian 7-footer Darko Milicic was chosen second by the Detroit Pistons. Carmelo Anthony, who led Syracuse to the national championship, was chosen third by the Denver Nuggets - capping the drama-less first 15 minutes.

The Toronto Raptors, who were listening to trade offers throughout the day, used the No. 4 pick on 6-foot-11 freshman forward Chris Bosh of Georgia Tech.

"Being picked so high is a definite honor. You always hope," Bosh said. "I'm happy it's over."

Miami then went for Marquette junior guard Dwyane Wade, who said Wednesday that he had no idea whether he'd be picked anywhere from fourth to 10th.

"I've been living in cold all my life. If I go to the Heat, with the warm weather, that'll be good, too," Wade said.

The night's first trade came about 90 minutes after James was chosen, with Memphis sending the rights to the 13th pick, Marcus Banks of UNLV, and the 27th pick (Kendrick Perkins of Ozen (Texas) High School) to the Boston Celtics for the rights to picks 16 (Troy Bell of Boston College) and 20 (Dahntay Jones of Duke).

Two teams with point guard problems snatched the two top-rated playmakers with the No. 7 and 8 picks.

Kirk Hinrich of Kansas was the first senior to be selected, going sixth to Chicago.

T.J. Ford of Texas went at No. 8 to the Milwaukee Bucks - a possible sign that the franchise expects point guard Gary Payton to leave as a free agent over the summer.

Jarvis Hayes of Georgia went 10th to the Washington Wizards, who moved out of their Michael Jordan era by naming Eddie Jordan head coach last week.

Eight foreign players were selected in the first round along with four high schoolers.