The Minnesota Timberwolves are on the clock.

After COVID-19 delayed June's 2020 NBA Draft, the Timberwolves are just hours away from making their top selection.

You can watch all the draft drama on Wednesday night, starting at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt on TSN 1/4 and streaming on TSN.ca, the TSN App and TSN Direct.

 

Who's projected to go No. 1?

Many mock drafts have Minnesota taking point guard LaMelo Ball, the youngest of the famous Ball brothers, with the first overall pick.

Other projected high picks include shooting guard Anthony Edwards (Georgia), centre James Wiseman (Memphis), small forward Deni Avdija (Israel) and centre Onyeka Okongwu (USC).

Still, the 19-year-old Ball, who most recently played in Australia with the Illawarra Hawks, isn't the runaway favourite.

According to Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill, Ball is the odds-on favorite go No. 1 with -200 odds.

Odds to go first overall

LaMelo Ball: -200
Anthony Edwards: +150
James Wiseman: +650

If either Ball or Edwards goes first overall, it will mark the seventh time in the last 30 drafts that a guard was selected with the No. 1 pick, including the T-Wolves taking Canadian Andrew Wiggins in 2014.

Guards selected No. 1 (last 30 years)

2017 - Markelle Fultz (Washington)
2014 - Andrew Wiggins (Kansas)
2011 - Kyrie Irving (Duke)
2010 - John Wall (Kentucky)
2008 - Derrick Rose (Memphis)
1996 - Allen Iverson (Georgetown)

Furthermore, if Ball ends up becoming the top selection, it will end a streak of 10 straight years that a freshman has been drafted first overall. Blake Griffin was the last non-freshman to go first overall in 2009.

If Ball goes first, it will also mark the first time the top pick didn't attend college since 2006 when the Toronto Raptors selected Italy's Andrea Bargnani. It also happened in 2004 with Dwight Howard, 2003 with LeBron James, 2002 with Yao Ming and 2001 with Kwame Brown. 

If Avdija also goes in the top-five alongside Ball, it would only be the sixth time since 1966 where multiple non-college players have been selected in the top-five.

Multiple players who did not attend college (top five)

2015 - Kristaps Porzingis, Mario Hezonja
2004 - Dwight Howard, Shaun Livingston
2003 - LeBron James, Darko Milicic
2002 - Yao Ming, Nikoloz Tskitishvili
2001 - Kwame Brown, Tyson Chandler, Pau Gasol, Eddy Curry

 

What about Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas and Duke?

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Everything about the year of 2020 has been strange, so it's no surprise the 2020 NBA Draft could also be unusual.

Currently, no prospect who played their college ball at Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas or Duke is projected to be selected with a top-14 pick. The last time no players from those four prestigious basketball schools were selected by a lottery team (top-14) was in 2000.

It could also snap Kentucky's 10-year streak of having a player selected in the lottery, the longest streak since the lottery began in 1985.

Most consecutive drafts with a lottery selection

2010-19 - Kentucky (active)
2014-19 - Duke active)
2010-14 - Kansas

Also, the last time that no players from Kentucky, North Carolina or Duke were selected in the top-10 was 2009.

 

Odd and ends

  • For a second consecutive year, the Philadelphia 76ers have five draft picks, the most in the league (21, 34, 36, 49, 58).
  • Boston Celtics have three first-round picks (14, 26, 30).
  • Houston Rockets are the only team without a draft selection this year.
  • 25th anniversary of Kevin Garnett going fifth overall to the Timberwolves.
  • 35th anniversary of Patrick Ewing going first overall to the New York Knicks in 1985.