The Minnesota Timberwolves won the NBA draft lottery Thursday night and will pick first in the Oct. 16 draft. The Golden State Warriors will select second, while the Charlotte Hornets jumped up to the third slot.
It's the second time the Wolves have won the draft lottery in six years - they landed the top pick in 2015, selecting Karl-Anthony Towns. Minnesota, holders of the NBA's third-worst record this season, shared a 14% chance of winning the lottery along with the Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.
| Pick | Team |
|---|---|
| 1 | Timberwolves |
| 2 | Warriors |
| 3 | Hornets |
| 4 | Bulls |
| 5 | Cavaliers |
| 6 | Hawks |
| 7 | Pistons |
| 8 | Knicks |
| 9 | Wizards |
| 10 | Suns |
| 11 | Spurs |
| 12 | Kings |
| 13 | Pelicans |
| 14 | Celtics (from Grizzlies) |
The loser in this year's scenario is the Cavs, who entered the lottery with a 52% chance of remaining in the top four. Instead, they dropped to fifth, with the Hornets and Chicago Bulls moving up.
The Memphis Grizzlies' pick stayed at No. 14, automatically sending it to the Boston Celtics - a transaction dating back to the 2015 Jeff Green trade.
There is no consensus No. 1 pick in the 2020 draft. Two of the likely top three picks - LaMelo Ball and James Wiseman - barely played last season in Australia and with the Memphis Tigers, respectively. The top NCAA prospects that played most of last season remain Georgia swingman Anthony Edwards and Dayton's Obi Toppin - who won the Naismith and Wooden awards.
The top international prospects are widely considered to be Israeli forward Deni Avdija and French point guard Killian Hayes.
A format for this year's draft has not yet been decided.
