The first round of the 2026 NBA Draft will take place on Tuesday, June 23. Barring a trade, the Minnesota Timberwolves will be making the 28th selection.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the Timberwolves’ best draft picks in franchise history. It’s not necessarily the 10 best players ranked in order, as where they were selected was taken into consideration and only time with the team is credited.
I decided to include players that weren’t technically drafted by the Timberwolves, but joined the team in draft-day trades. Minnesota still selected those players for the team drafting before the deal was made official.
The fans would love to see someone like Joan Beringer or Terrence Shannon Jr. do enough to eventually make this list in the future. Regardless, here are the 10 I chose in descending order.
Honorable mentions include Pooh Richardson, Zach LaVine, Christian Laettner, Isaiah Rider, Rasho Nesterovic, Craig Smith, and Corey Brewer.
10. Ricky Rubio (5th overall pick, 2009)
Timberwolves fans will always remember that Rubio was taken two selections before Stephen Curry, but the former proved to be an elite passer with the club. The runner-up for 2011-12 Rookie of the Year (played for FC Barcelona for two years after being drafted), Rubio’s 3,424 assists and 845 steals are both the second-most in franchise history.
9. Nikola Pekovic (31st overall pick, 2008)
An immovable object in the post, injuries unfortunately forced Pekovic to play his last game at the age of 30. In the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, Pekovic combined to average 16.9 points and 8.7 rebounds while shooting 53.0 percent from the field. Pekovic returned excellent value as a second-round pick.
8. Stephon Marbury (4th overall pick, 1996)
If this were based just on talent, Marbury certainly would be higher. Minnesota acquired him in a draft-day trade with the Milwaukee Bucks for Ray Allen and a 1998 first-round pick. Marbury wasn’t exactly fond of playing for the Timberwolves and was traded to the New Jersey Nets early on in his third season. One of the biggest what-if questions for the franchise is: What if Stephon Marbury and Kevin Garnett were able to play together for a longer time?
7. Doug West (38th overall pick, 1999)
A second-round pick, West’s 609 games with the franchise are the third-most in team history. His most productive year with the club came in 1992-93, when he averaged 19.3 points on 51.7 percent field goal shooting.
6. Wally Szczerbiak (6th overall pick, 1999)
An All-Star in 2001-02, Szczerbiak is the franchise’s seventh all-time leading scorer (6,777 points). He would be even more valuable in today’s NBA, which has greater 3-point volume, as Szczerbiak made 40.4 percent of his shots from beyond the arc while donning a Timberwolves jersey.
5. Jaden McDaniels (28th overall pick, 2020)
McDaniels was actually traded twice on draft night, ending up with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Still, just 25 years old, he is an elite wing defender who made the All-Defensive second team in 2023-24. More honors on that side of the court should be coming for him, and he is also coming off his best offensive season (14.8 points, 41.2 percent 3-point shooting).
4. Kevin Love (5th overall pick, 2008)
The Timberwolves acquired Love in a draft-day trade that included Minnesota sending the Memphis Grizzlies the third overall pick (O.J. Mayo). Love was a member of the Timberwolves for his first six seasons, where he proved to be an elite rebounder. The 2010-11 Most Improved Player had a remarkable outing of 31 points and 31 rebounds early on in that season.
3. Karl-Anthony Towns (1st overall pick, 2015)
There’s a reason so many in the Wolves’ fanbase were cheering on Towns and the New York Knicks to win the 2026 NBA Finals. Towns played his first nine seasons with the Timberwolves and was named an All-Star four times (also had two All-NBA third team nods). The self-proclaimed “best shooting big man” made nearly 40 percent of his 3-point tries with Minnesota.
2. Anthony Edwards (1st overall pick, 2020)
Ant is only looking up at one name on this list, and he doesn’t turn 25 until August 5. Edwards is amongst the game’s elite scorers. He has been the best player on a team that has won five playoff series in the last three years (the franchise won just two over its first 34 seasons). Now six years into his NBA career, Edwards has increased his scoring average in each successive season (28.8 points in 2025-26).
1. Kevin Garnett (5th overall pick, 1995)
Ant-Man hasn’t surpassed the Big Ticket yet. Garnett spent his first 12 seasons with the Timberwolves before rejoining the team at the end of his career. In 2003-04, he became the first (and still only) MVP in franchise history. KG was also the MVP runner-up twice with the Wolves and had two runner-up finishes for Defensive Player of the Year.
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