The NBA Draft isn’t of the same quality every year. Look at the 2000 draft as an example of one that lacked any star power.
There are some drafts where there is a clear-cut top prospect that often pans out and has a wonderful career. Think Tim Duncan, LeBron James, and, through two seasons, Victor Wembanyama. Other drafts don’t have that player, and the team with the top pick ends up taking someone who is labeled a bust. Think Andrea Bargnani and Anthony Bennett.
In 2015, the Timberwolves won the draft lottery and selected Karl-Anthony Towns out of Kentucky. Towns doesn’t fit in either category, and has been a wonderful player, just not a truly transcendent one.
Towns was the right pick but not an all-time great
Towns’ nine-year stint with the Wolves came to an end late last offseason when he was traded to the Knicks. With Minnesota, he was the 2015-16 Rookie of the Year, made three All-Star teams, and was named to two All-NBA third teams.
On the recent episode of his podcast, Game Theory Podcast w/ Sam Vecenie, Vecenie had Bryce Simon of Motor City Hoops on as a guest. They did a re-draft of the 2015 NBA Draft. Both agreed that the top two players in the draft were on a tier by themselves. Those are Towns and Devin Booker. Simon stuck with Towns as the first pick, while Vecenie went with Booker.
Part of Simon’s reasoning was that Towns has one more All-Star and All-NBA notch on his belt than Booker (including the one of each that Towns had for the Knicks last season). To put the draft in baseball terms, sometimes the team picking first hits a no-doubt home run. Sometimes they swing and miss.
Taking either Towns or Booker first overall feels like more of a double. Both will probably find their way into the Basketball Hall of Fame when their careers are over, but barring some quite superb play in the second halves of their career, they likely won’t find their names on the NBA’s 100th Anniversary Team when that time comes.
Towns is still one of the Wolves' all-time greats
This isn’t meant to be disparaging towards Towns. He’s clearly a Timberwolves Mount Rushmore player along with Kevin Garnett, Anthony Edwards, and Kevin Love. His 62-point game on January 22, 2024, is the most in a single game in franchise history. Towns also had a 60-point game in March of 2022.
Still, Minnesota only made the playoffs once in five seasons with Towns prior to their drafting of Anthony Edwards. The Timberwolves didn’t make the wrong choice selecting Towns. It just was a draft that looks like it didn't produce an all-time great.