Minnesota Timberwolves: The Good, Bad, and Ugly of the NBA Draft Lottery
By Phil Ford
Minnesota Timberwolves: The Good of the NBA Draft Lottery
1995
Pre-Lottery Position: No. 3
Actual Draft Position: No. 5
Draft Pick: Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett is far-and-away the greatest draft pick in the history of the Minnesota Timberwolves franchise. Drafted No. 5 overall behind the likes of Joe Smith, Antonio McDyess, Jerry Stackhouse, and Rasheed Wallace, Garnett is easily the best player from the 1995 NBA Draft.
Minnesota took a bold swing and drafted the first player straight out of high school since Moses Malone in 1976, and it paid off immediately.
He quickly became the face of the franchise, and lead the Wolves to eight straight playoff appearances from 1996-97 until 2003-04. Garnett won an MVP award and went on to win a championship in 2008 with the Boston Celtics, cementing himself as one of the greatest players in NBA history.
Garnett is the Wolves franchise leader in almost every statistical category including points, rebounds, assists, steals, and blocks. The Big Ticket gave the Timberwolves a real place in the NBA and solidified them as a contender in the Western Conference.
Garnett is the greatest lottery pick in Wolves history, one of the best draft picks in the history of the NBA draft, gave the franchise a real foothold for the first time in the NBA.
2015
Pre-Lottery Position: No. 1
Actual Draft Position: No. 1
Draft Pick: Karl-Anthony Towns
For much of the lead-up to the 2015 NBA Draft, most experts were torn between Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Kentucky big man Karl-Anthony Towns as to who should be the first pick in the draft.
Wolves fans are overjoyed that they went with the latter.
Towns is the only No. 1-overall pick in franchise history and has paid off so far in five seasons. Towns’ start ranks among all-time greats like Tim Duncan, Shaquille O’Neal, David Robinson, and Patrick Ewing as one of the best early careers in recent memory.
Towns was chosen ahead of now teammate D’Angelo Russell, Okafor, and Kistaps Porzingis. KAT is easily the best of the top four picks, with the only other player in the draft who could vie for that distinction is Towns’ college teammate Devin Booker, who was taken No. 13 by the Phoenix Suns and was never in the conversation for the top pick.
The only think KAT really has left to prove is if he can become a true winning player in the NBA. He’s only made the playoffs once in 2018 with Jimmy Butler while getting a gentleman’s sweep at the hands of the Houston Rockets.
The next evolution for Towns is to become an MVP candidate, and becoming a player who can carry a team to the playoffs.
He has all the tools to become one of the best players in the NBA. At seven feet tall, Towns shoots threes better than any big man in history. He’s a career 39.6 percent 3-point shooter and hit 41.2 percent this season.
Wolves fans should be happy with the early returns from the first five seasons of the Karl-Anthony Towns era, and it will be exciting to see how he improves his game and where he can take the Wolves in the future.