Though many fans don’t bother watching the NBA preseason because the league’s superstars don’t always play a lot of minutes, it is one of my absolute favorite times of the season. It is a time where veterans still trying to prove they’ve got something left in the tank, undrafted rookies eager to show league executives why passing on them in the draft was a mistake and unproven youngsters teams have given up to, alike, have the chance to fulfill their dream of playing in the NBA.

NBA teams have the opportunity to invite a handful of players to their training camp on non-guaranteed contracts. If they prove themselves, they can potentially land a regular-season roster spot, a prestigious symbol for all of the hard work each NBA hopeful puts in. Every season, a few individuals overcome extreme obstacles, wow team executives during the preseason and make the opening day roster. The deadline to finalize opening day rosters was Monday at 5 pm. At that time, many camp invites received disappointing news: they had been waived from the team and would have to find a job in the d-league or overseas. For others, however, they found out they had made an NBA roster; the best news of their life.

And in a league where executives are increasingly frugal with signing players to contracts because of the dreaded luxury tax penalty, making an opening day roster is that much sweeter. Here’s a look at this year’s crop of “Training Camp Cinderella Stories”– players that beat the odds and made their respective team’s regular season roster.

James Southerland, Forward, Charlotte Bobcats:

Southerland hoped he’d hear his name called on draft night after a respectable senior season at Syracuse. Proven as one of the draft’s more proficient sharpshooters from beyond the arc, he also boasted respectable 6’8, 215 pound size at the small forward position. He had the chance to have his name called late in the second round as the San Antonio Spurs expressed great interest in using the 58th overal pick to draft him. However, there was a catch: Southerland would have to play this season overseas and would have no guarantee, in future seasons, of making the Spurs’ roster. Committed to fulfilling his NBA dream right away, Southerland respectfully declined the Spurs offer and decided to go the Summer League route, lacing up for the Philadelphia 76ers and Golden State Warriors’ summer league teams. And he impressed enough to garner a training camp invite from the Charlotte Bobcats. And despite the minimal playing time he received, Southerland evidently worked hard enough in practice and the ‘Cats saw the potential they believe he has to be weapon off the bench down the line. He claimed the ‘Cats’ 15th and final roster spot.

Rasual Butler, Forward, Indiana Pacers: It would have been easy for Butler to quit pursuing his dream when he was waived by the Toronto Raptors in March of 2012. After all, at 32 years old, he had already had a respectable career to look back on. Instead, he swallowed his pride, still determined to fill the novel that was his NBA career with more pages, and joined the NBA D-League in January, where he was named the league’s Impact Player of the Year. Now, he has been blessed with the fortune that Danny Granger is out for three weeks to rehab his strained calf, meaning he made the Pacers’ opening season roster to fill in as an outside shooting wing off the bench. Butler will have to prove himself to stick around long term, but knowing the professionalism, work ethic and perseverance he has shown in years past, he is fit for the task.

Xavier Henry, Guard/Forward, Los Angeles Lakers: League executives were very high on Henry when he was coming out of the University of Kansas in 2010. A big, athletic, physical guard who could score and defend, Henry was picked in the lottery–12th overall– by the Memphis Grizzlies in the 2010 draft. However, he was surrounded by misfortune as he entered the league. He struggled with injuries in his lone season in Memphis. Following his rookie year, he was traded to the New Orleans Hornets, where he struggled to find playing time on a team that already boasted several talented wings. He’s gotten another chance, however, with the Lakers. He made a statement in the preseason, including a 29 point explosion against the Golden State Warriors, and the Lakers were impressed enough to keep him on their opening day roster. He’s got the chance to get minutes he never got in years past as Kobe Bryant sits out with his Achilles injury. And he’ll be eager to show that his being picked in the lottery wasn’t a mistake.

AJ Price, Guard, Minnesota Timberwolves: Overcoming hardships has been a huge theme of Price’s life: He battled a life-threatening case of AVM, an abnormality that caused bleeding in his brain. So, when the pressure was on to land the third string point guard spot in a training camp battle with energetic rookie Lorenzo Brown, Price was unphased. He made the cut over a very talented player in Brown. In Minnesota, he’ll have a legitimate chance for minutes as the third string point guard behind Ricky Rubio and JJ Barea.

Robbie Hummel, Forward, Minnesota Timberwolves: Robbie Hummel certainly hasn’t taken the fact that he’s able to play basketball, at any level, for granted. After all, his dream nearly ended when he tore his acl–twice. Instead of complaining about the misfortune that surrounded him, Hummel used it as motivation to get better. Drafted in 2012, 58th overall, by the Timberwolves, he elected to hone his skills overseas and continue to prove his injuries were behind him as he played professionally on a one year deal in Spain. Now a year later, Hummel’s hard work has begin to reap the benefits: he made an NBA opening-day roster.

Toure’ Murry, Guard, Knicks: Murry is the perfect example of the NBA D-League’s effectiveness and of one who makes use of the summer league. After going undrafted in the 2012 draft, Murry traveled the globe, playing in Turkey and Israel, before he was drafted to the d-league. Virtually unheard of in the 2013 summer league, Murry proved he was nothin’ to sneeze at with a very strong summer league performance for the Knicks. His impressive showing warranted a camp invite in New York. His stellar play didn’t stop there, however, as an impressive preseason prompted the Knicks to keep him around for their opening day roster.

Dionte Christmas: Fitting with his last name, Dionte has the gift of shooting the ball. He’s proven, year after year, that he can shoot the lights out in the summer league. It’s almost become a routine to see Dionte Christmas show out in the summer league, get invited to camp, just miss the cut and do it all again a summer later with another element of his game polished. Christmas entered this year’s summer league determined to end the tantalizing cycle of just missing the cut. And he did just that, finally, with the full support of team executives and fellow Suns members.

While many of these players have made the cut for the first time, there’s likely more to their dream. Sticking around until contracts become guaranteed on January 10, earning a meaningful spot in the rotation and winning as many games as possible are what will keep them motivated to get better.