Basketball: Minnesota Timberwolves receive No. 1 pick in NBA draft lottery

Kevin Garnett #21 of the Minnesota Timberwolves stands during the singing of the national anthem before the game with the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on March 9, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The Timberwolves won the right to pick first
Kevin Garnett #21 of the Minnesota Timberwolves stands during the singing of the national anthem before the game with the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center on March 9, 2015 in Los Angeles, California. The Timberwolves won the right to pick first in the 2015 NBA draft after winning the lottery on Tuesday, May 19 -- PHOTO: AFP
Updated
Apr 04, 2016, 11:13 AM
Published
May 20, 2015, 05:00 PM

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Minnesota Timberwolves won the National Basketball Association's draft lottery on Tuesday, giving them the first selection in the NBA draft for the first time.

The Timberwolves had a 25 per cent chance - the best odds among the 14 non-playoff teams in the draw - at winning the weighted lottery after finishing with the worst record in the 2014-15 regular season.

For the first time since 2004, the team in best position actually claimed the top pick, giving Minnesota reason to rejoice after their lowly 16-66 mark in the regular season.

"We just want a young man with a great heart and a great mind," said Timberwolves owner Glen Taylor, who attended the lottery at a midtown Manhattan hotel ballroom.

Centres Karl-Anthony Towns from the University of Kentucky and Jahlil Okafor from Duke are widely considered the prizes of the draft to be held on June 25 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

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