Minnesota Timberwolves: Top 15 draft picks in franchise history

• Six seasons with Timberwolves (2010-16)
• Averaged 12.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game

In the 2008 NBA Draft, Nikola Pekovic was the consensus “first pick of the second round” draft pick, meaning that he was likely a player that would not come over to the United States from Europe right away, and keeping him stashed overseas and on a flexible and affordable contract when he did choose to join the team was attractive.

The Timberwolves were lucky enough to be able to pick him at No. 31, and Pekovic made an immediate impact when he eventually came stateside in 2010.

After a rough rookie season that saw Pek struggle to stay on the court due to the learning curve when it came to avoiding foul trouble in the NBA compared to Euroleague (he played just 13.6 minutes per game over 65 contests as a rookie), Pekovic broke out in his sophomore season.

In the lockout-shortened 2011-12 campaign, Pekovic put up 13.9 points and 7.4 rebounds per game in 26.9 minutes per game over 47 games. The next year, Pek’s numbers increased to 16.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game, although he only played in 62 of 82 contests.

His best statistical season came in 2013-14. Pekovic tallied 17.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game but only appeared in 54 games as foot and ankle injuries that had begun bothering the massive Montenegrin began to crop up once again.

Over his last two years in the NBA, Pekovic appeared in just 43 out of 164 possible games. It was a disappointing downfall for an outstanding player, but the value that Pekovic provided as a second-round pick was certainly enough to put him in the top seven on this list.