The Minnesota Timberwolves went into the 2014-2015 season as losers and emerged as winners Tuesday night.
Minnesota managed to come away with the first overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, winning the lottery after having a 25 percent chance of landing the top pick.
With the worst record in the NBA this past season, Minnesota became the first team since 2004 to have the worst record in the NBA and receive the first pick in the lottery. After trading for Andrew Wiggins last offseason, Minnesota will now essentially have back to back first overall picks.
The Los Angeles Lakers will pick second, the Philadelphia 76ers third, and the New York Knicks fourth. The Lakers will pick in this year’s lottery for just the fourth time ever, while the Sixers landed a spot for the second consecutive year. The Knicks controlled the second highest chance at the first pick at 19.9 percent, and fell to the fourth spot.
The most anticipated players that are likely to be drafted by these teams include Kentucky center Karl-Anthony Towns, Duke center Jahlil Okafor, Ohio State point guard D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay, a 19-year-old point guard who played professionally for the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association.
The NBA draft will take place at the Barclays Center, the Brooklyn Nets’ home court, on June 25.
• Andrew Walsh can be reached at awalsh@washingtontimes.com.
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