Wolves win NBA Lottery

Minneapolis/St. Paul – The winning odds were in favor of Minnesota tonight as the Timberwolves secured the top overall selection in the 2020 NBA Draft. Minnesota secured the No. 1 overall pick for the second time in club history (2015, Karl-Anthony Towns). Minnesota Timberwolves guard D’Angelo Russell represented the franchise tonight in the NBA’s first-ever virtual Draft Lottery. The 2020 NBA Draft will be held on Friday, October 16.

“We are thrilled to select first overall in this year’s draft,” said Timberwolves President of Basketball Operations Gersson Rosas. “This selection is a significant step forward for the organization and will allow us to continue to strategically build around Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell. This is an exciting day for our franchise.”

The Wolves entered the night tied for the best odds with the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers, with a 14% chance of obtaining the first overall draft choice. Towns (2015) was the last Timberwolves player to be selected No. 1 overall. Since being drafted first overall, Towns has gone on to earn the following honors, NBA Rookie of the Year (2015), All-Star (2x, 2018 and 2019), named to the All-NBA Third Team (2018) and Western Conference Player of the Week four times in his career (MR: Oct. 28, 2019).

The Timberwolves also own the 17th overall pick (acquired before the 2019-20 trade deadline, Brooklyn to Minnesota via Atlanta) marking the seventh time in franchise history the team has had more than one first-round draft pick. In addition, the club owns the 33rd overall pick in this year’s draft (third pick of the second round).