The Minnesota Timberwolves have won the draft lottery, with the Los Angeles Lakers picking second and the Philadelphia 76ers picking third. The Wolves will likely be choosing between three players: Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Duke’s Jahlil Okafor and Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell. Each would bring something different to the table.
Timberwolves win 2015 NBA Draft Lottery
The Timberwolves have won the lottery and will pick No. 1 in the 2015 NBA Draft.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
Okafor led his team to the national championship as a freshman at Duke. He’s a dominant lowpost scorer with long arms and an unrivaled touch around the rim. For as skilled as he is offensively, there are questions about how he’ll be able to hold up on defense.
Towns started gaining steam late in the college season for his two-way ability. He was the centerpiece of a Kentucky team that started 38-0 and he showed an ability to take over in a close win over Notre Dame in the Elite Eight.
Russell offers versatility in the backcourt, with ideal size, length and shooting ability for the position. He averaged more points per game than any draft-eligible freshman at Ohio State and has the type of skilled offensive game NBA teams desire out of their guards.
The big story from the rest of the lottery is the New York Knicks falling to No. 4 with the second best odds at the top pick. The Lakers could have lost their pick if they fell out of the top five, but instead Los Angeles came away with the second pick.
The rest of the draft order looks like this:
1. Minnesota Timerberwolves
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. New York Knicks
5. Orlando Magic
6. Sacramento Kings
7. Denver Nuggets
8. Detroit Pistons
9. Charlotte Hornets
10. Miami Heat
11. Indiana Pacers
12. Utah Jazz
13. Phoenix Suns
14. Oklahoma City Thunder
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