Minnesota Timberwolves Win NBA Draft Lottery

Yesterday, the NBA held their annual draft lottery, an event where losers win.

Unlike the NFL, the order of the NBA Draft is not determined by record. There are 14 non-playoff teams and their draft order is established by a lottery. If you have the worst record, then you have the best odds to get the first pick. But there is no guarantee that you will get it, which is what makes this event thoroughly interesting.

The five teams with the worst records, in order, are Minnesota Timberwolves, New York Knicks, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic. And by far the biggest loser of last night has to be the New York Knicks, who unluckily dropped to the fourth overall selection.

As for the rest, the first pick went to Minnesota, Lakers got the second, the 76ers received the third and Orlando remained at five.

“Having the number one pick gives us the opportunity to really evaluate everybody and really see what direction we want to go,” said Minnesota coach Flip Saunders. “At this point, we’re open. We’ll pick the best player for us on June 25.”

Needless to say, the top prospects were not ecstatic with these teams: at the moment, only Los Angeles looks enticing, but New York is also a big market to play in and has Phil Jackson.

And speaking of the top prospects, they are Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns, Duke’s Jahlil Okafor, Emmanuel Mudiay and Ohio State’s D’Angelo Russell. Currently, the Kentucky big man is projected to go first.

The NBA Draft takes place at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 25.