NBA Draft: Recent draft selections at Timberwolves’ pick No. 20

The Minnesota Timberwolves are just days away from adding new talent to the roster via the NBA Draft, but what is the historical success of the 20th pick?

A quick at recent 20th picks doesn’t paint a great picture for the Timberwolves fans to aspire to.

However, it’s important to note that every player that makes their way into the NBA is a top-tier basketball player that excels in their sport, although we sometimes forget that.

Of course, comparing players based on their draft selection is also not an accurate way to measure their future productivity in the league, as has been shown in many cases, but it may give us an idea of the type of talent could be coming Minnesota’s way.

Last years’ 20th pick, Harry Giles, has yet to play a game in the NBA due to injury. The No. 20 pick in 2016, Caris LeVert, has proven his ability to contribute in the league, with a big improvement this year in his second season with Brooklyn.

Over his first two years in the NBA, LeVert has averaged 10.4 points, 3.2 assists and 3.5 rebounds while starting in 36 of his 128 appearances. As the Timberwolves are looking for some depth to add to their bench, a player of LeVert’s caliber could certainly come in handy this draft.

Travelling back to 2015, the 20th pick for Toronto came in the form of point guard Delon Wright. (The Timberwolves traded up with Cleveland to select Tyus Jones four picks later.)

Wright played just 27 games in each of his first two seasons in the league, interrupted by multiple assignments to the G-League and issues with injury, although he proved his capability to handle his own in the NBA in 2017-18. In his third year in the league, Wright averaged 8 points, 2.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds in 69 appearances. Wright has also appeared in three consecutive postseasons with the Raptors, earning a spot in the team’s bench rotation.

We only have to go back to 2011 to find the last time the Timberwolves had the 20th pick in the draft. They selected Donatas Motiejunas, who they traded to Houston alongside Jonny Flynn in exchange for Brad Miller and Nikola Mirotic as part of a series of trade-backs by then-general manager David Kahn.

Motiejunas ended up debuting a year later and enjoyed a five-year NBA career with Houston and New Orleans, in which he averaged 7.4 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, starting 101 of his 248 appearances before heading back overseas to play last year.

In terms of the most memorable and well-known 20th picks, a few names stick out. Mike D’Antoni, now the head coach of the Houston Rockets, was drafted 20th in 1973, although that was in the second round in those days. Larry Nance was a 20th pick in 1981, and Gerald Glass and Paul Grant both were selected by the Timberwolves with a No. 20 pick in the 1990s.

The 2012 draft saw Evan Fournier selected with the 20th pick by the Orlando Magic, and in 2013 Tony Snell was selected 20th by Tom Thibodeau’s Bulls.

The Timberwolves would certainly be hoping for a player that can contribute off the bench in the same way that some of the above names have managed. However, each draft class is different, and every player brings their own set of skills and abilities to the game.

We’re just days away from this year’s draft, and time will tell who the Timberwolves have their eye set on.