The Minnesota Timberwolves were the big winners of Tuesday night's 2015 NBA Draft Lottery, landing the coveted No. 1 pick in June's draft.
Probability-wise, the Los Angeles Lakers should have gotten the fourth pick in the draft but lucked out and got the second overall selection. That triggered this hilarious reaction from five-time Lakers champion Kobe Bryant.
We played like crap all season so it's only right we get the #2 pick HA #lakerluck #goodday
— Kobe Bryant (@kobebryant) May 20, 2015
Magic Johnson was also pretty ecstatic about the Lakers nabbing that second overall selection.
The basketball gods smiled down on the Lakers, giving us the #2 pick in the draft!
— Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 20, 2015
Signing Okafor or Towns to play with Kobe, Randle, Clarkson and some good Free Agents will help the Lakers compete in the West! — Earvin Magic Johnson (@MagicJohnson) May 20, 2015
The big losers in the Draft Lottery? The New York Knicks. The Knicks finished the 2014-15 regular season with the second-worst record at 17-65 but only landed the fourth pick. Odds-wise, the Knicks should have secured at least the second pick, but the Lakers made sure that didn't happen. The Knicks can blame themselves, though. Winning back-to-back meaningless games in April didn't exactly help their cause.
Remember those back to back road wins in April at Orlando & Atlanta? That's right, the Knicks were also bad at tanking. — Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) May 20, 2015
Here's a look at the draft order for the non-playoff lottery teams.
1. Minnesota Timberwolves
2. Los Angeles Lakers
3. Philadelphia 76ers
4. New York Knicks
5. Orlando Magic
6. Sacramento Kings
7. Denver Nuggets
8. Detroit Pistons
9. Charlotte Hornets
10. Miami Heat
11. Indiana Pacers
12. Utah Jazz
13. Phoenix Suns
14. Oklahoma City Thunder
Kentucky's skilled big man Karl Anthony-Towns is already being projected as the No. 1 pick by the Timberwolves, with Duke center Jahlil Okafor expected to being selected by the Lakers. Or will it be the other way around? Ohio State's D'Angelo Russell is a pretty dynamic guard and just might be the best player right now in the entire 2015 draft class. Emmanuel Mudiay played overseas in China and is a bit of an unknown, while analysts expect Duke forward Justise Winslow's stock to only rise.
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