The trendy 2002 Cadillac Escalade is the vehicle of choice for the soon-to-be NBA millionaires.(AP)

"This is a great job, you get compensated with a lot of money and a lot of perks," said Duke's Shane Battier of a career that will pay the top pick around $3 million per year.

No rookie will pick up his first paycheck until training camp in the fall, but they aren't hurting for cash. With guaranteed multiyear, multimillion-dollar contracts awaiting them, getting a line of credit from a bank is beyond simple for a future lottery pick.

And since no one yet knows where they are going to live, it is too early to build one of those dream houses that will get you on MTV's Cribs or ESPN's The Life. So to splurge on something sweet, you have stay (relatively) small, say an upgraded diamond stud in the ear, fine suits and, of course, the fancy wheels.

The hot ride this year? The 2002 Cadillac Escalade.

"That's the car," said Eddy Curry, a center out of Thornwood High in South Holland, Ill. "Everybody's got one. Everybody's got it."

Not everyone, but close.

"I bought an Escalade," said former Michigan State guard Jason Richardson, who is going to have his shipped from Los Angeles, where he has been training, to his hometown of Saginaw, Mich., so he can show it off to his old friends. "It's not a Lamborghini, but they are nice. They are sporty yet at the same time, they are a luxury-type car. I bet everybody has got one."

The Escalade is popular, and why not? With a 345-horsepower engine, it is one of the most powerful vehicles on the road that still runs on regular unleaded. It's big and spacious, opulently comfortable, yet easy to handle. Or so everyone says.

"The Lakers bought four of them," said Chris Ardavanis, a sales rep at Lou Ehlers Cadillac on Welshire Boulevard in Los Angeles. "Phil Jackson drives one of them, so all the right people are in them."

They are also prominently featured in hip-hop videos and have quickly become the stylish car of the young, wealthy and famous.

"It's top of the line," Ardavanis said. "And then you can customize everything, get the wheels done, custom grill, TV's, entertainment system, brush guards, power sun roof, you name it."

Top sticker price? About $60,000.

And that's before things get truly ridiculous. Some Escalades have three or four separate television systems in them, meaning one passenger could be playing a video game while another watches a DVD and another catches a game on broadcast TV. Others have hydraulics, special lights and $10,000 stereo systems.

And then why even drive the thing if it doesn't have customized 22-inch rims?

"You've got to have the 22s," said Eddie Griffin, a forward from Seton Hall.

"Oh yeah, 22-inch rims," Curry said.

Then the vehicles get individualized -- you can have your name ingrained in the leather seats or on the steering wheel -- because if everyone has one, does everyone still want it?

"I'm going to just try to put different stuff on it," said Griffin, who said driving such a vehicle through his old neighborhood in South Philadelphia is a thrill. "I'm probably going to get it painted a color nobody got or something like that."

Which doesn't mean every draft pick is going crazy with fancy stuff. Villanova's Mike Bradley said he'll buy a new car, but not until after he is actually drafted. Others aren't likely to buy such an expensive car regardless. At least until they sign for the NBA max and a $200,000 Bentley is suddenly in their price range.

"I'm cheap," said Brendan Haywood of North Carolina. "I don't buy anything until I have a check in my hand. I'm waiting. Whatever city I move to I'll probably go in July, so I'll need to get a car. But besides that, I haven't bought much at all. "

And while that car will be nice, it won't be an Escalade or some glamour deal. Nor will Haywood go for all the other shiny toys of the nuevo NBA rich.

"I like the Yukon and the Tahoe," the Greensboro, N.C., native said of his potential rides. "I'm not one of these guys that needs 15 TVs in his car, some rims, $100,000 in jewelry, 15 pairs of Tim's (Timberland boots). I don't need all that. I've been living without; I can continue to live without."

As for Battier, he's so square he said the only thing he has spent money on is his work-in-progress golf game that he calls "my vice." Two weeks ago he shot a personal best 104, meaning there is room for improvement.

Last Saturday, during the NBA predraft camp, he walked the streets of Chicago with a bag of dirty clothes over his shoulder looking for a Laundromat to toss in a quick load. The idea of hotel laundry cleaning didn't make sense -- or cents.

"Although this game has been incredibly kind to me and afforded me all these opportunities, at the end of the day I am still the guy who enjoys going shopping at the mall or buying my own groceries or doing my own laundry," Battier said. "Well, maybe not doing my own laundry.

"The biggest thing I bought is some golf balls and a golf hat. I'm pretty simple. I don't think my life will change that much. I'll spend a lot of money on video games and buy something nice for my parents. But other than that, (just) a lot of golf balls right now."

As for his wheels, he says he'll wait and see which company he might be able to work an endorsement deal with.

"Whatever one I can smile and look pretty for in a commercial, I'll drive," he said.

Which means he will get his ride for free, allowing him to save his cash.

He always was the smart one.