Minnesota Timberwolves win Draft Lottery, to pick first in 2015 NBA Draft

Owner of the Timberwolves Glen Taylor full smiles after his team were awarded the first pick of the NBA Draft

The 2015 NBA Draft order is set and for the first time in NBA history, the Minnesota Timberwolves landed the number one pick. The team from the land of 10,000 lakes were awarded the first overall pick today after lady luck finally smiled upon them, landing them the first overall pick in the Draft lottery that just concluded at the New York Hilton Midtown. It was just the fourth time since the weighted lottery was instituted in 1990, that the team with the best odds of winning the lottery has actually won it.

The franchise from the North-Western division of the Western Conference will be the first team to make a choice when the clock begins ticking June 25 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, the night of the 2015 NBA Draft. This is the first time that Minnesota will have the honour of selecting first overall, although they already have rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins and Anthony Bennet amongst their ranks, the first overall picks in the last couple of drafts. Thus, the Timberwolves will be adding a number one overall choice to the roster for the third year running.

The Timberwolves finished the season with 66 losses from their 82 games in regular season, after having seen their roster dismantle by long-term injuries to their cornerstones Ricky Rubio, Nikola Pekovic and Kevin Martin. The team also lost all-star forward Kevin Love last off-season, in a deal that saw them land the much-vaunted talent of Andrew Wiggins.

It is largely believed that Minnesota will select between Duke Centre Jahlil Okafor and Kentucky forward Karl-Anthony Towns. Whilst guard prospects D’Angelo Russell and Emmanuel Mudiay will also warrant a look-in.

Knicks slip to fourth

The biggest losers of the night were probably the New York Knicks. Phil Jackson’s side slided out of their 2nd place in the draft order and will now select fourth. The Knicks had a 19.9 percent chance at landing the No. 1 pick. However, their roughly 44 percent chance of sliding out of the top three came out smiling from the closet.

The Los Angeles Lakers came out with the second pick while the Philadelphia 76ers will have pick number three. The Orlando Magic will select fifth.

The full lottery results are as follows:

1). Minnesota Timberwolves2). Los Angeles Lakers3). Philadelphia 76ers4). New York Knicks5). Orlando Magic6). Sacramento Kings7). Denver Nuggets8). Detroit Pistons9). Charlotte Hornets10). Miami Heat11). Indiana Pacers12). Utah Jazz13). Phoenix Suns14). Oklahoma City Thunder