Power forward Karl-Anthony Towns shakes hands with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver shortly after being taken first in the NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Kathy Willens/AP hide caption
itoggle caption Kathy Willens/AP
The 2015 NBA Draft took place Thursday night in Brooklyn’s Barclay Center. Karl-Anthony Towns from the University of Kentucky was the first pick, drafted by the Minnesota Timberwolves, a team that ended last season with a 16-66 record. Nineteen-year-old, 6-foot-11 Towns only played one year at Kentucky, but during that season was named a 2015 Second-Team All-American. He also helped lead Kentucky to the Final Four.
In an interview shortly after his pick, Towns told ESPN, “This is what you live for.” He continued, “I’m coming with a winning attitude. I just want to win.”
The Los Angeles Lakers — once dominant, now coming off of a bruising 21-61 season — had second pick and chose guard D’Angelo Russell of Ohio State University.
The Philadelphia 76ers (18-64) picked third, choosing center Jahlil Okafor from Duke University. All three top picks in this year’s draft were college freshmen.
Rounding out the top five were two international picks. The New York Knicks (17-65) selected Kristaps Porzingis, a 7-foot power forward from Latvia with the fourth pick. The fifth pick went to the Orlando Magic (25-57), who selected Mario Hezonja, a shooting guard from Croatia.
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