The NBA Draft 2015 takes place on Thursday night and will see the Minnesota Timberwolves use their No. 1 pick, likely on Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns. To see if this draft pick and others turn out the way you predicted be sure to catch all the NBA 2015 draft action live on TV on ESPN with a start time of 7 p.m. ET. The NBA Draft 2015 can also be watched online through live stream via the link below.
Most pundits are certain that the Timberwolves will use their No. 1 draft pick to bring Kentucky's Karl-Anthony Towns to their roster. However, much of the rest of the draft is difficult to predict and a lot can happen and change over the space of a few hours on Thursday night.
NBA fans will be tuning in to see who the LA Lakers can grab, as well as whether the New York Knicks can claim some top talent as they look to recover from the worst season in franchise history last season.
Kentucky's Towns has been hugely profiled coming into the NBA Drafts. He was named the Gatorade National Player of the Year and a McDonald's All-American, and even though just towards the end of last year most were predicting Duke freshman Jahlil Okafor would be the No. 1 pick, having been top of his class since the eighth grade, Towns has emerged as the front runner in recent months, with most pundits considering him top in the draft rankings.
Many argue that Towns is the most complete player in the NBA Draft this year; he has a rock solid defense ethic, and posted 10.3 PPF, 6.7 RPG, and 2.3 BPG.
Towns has said ahead of the Draft: "I have no promises yet. I just don't have anything. Wish I did. I would have a lot of stress taken off my back. The biggest stress is this is the draft. This isn't college no more. You can't get traded in college," according to Yahoo Sports.
Jahlil Okafor meanwhile is a 19 year old, 6 ft 11 inch, 270 pound Duke superstar. The Chicago native dealt with being in the spotlight with relative ease over recent seasons, and he is perhaps the safest bet to have a solid and long career in the NBA. He posted 17.3 PPG, 8.5 RPG, and 66.4% FG.
Okafor's offensive abilities have been rightly praised by critics, however, he has a few clear weaknesses; his free throw shooting, which was just 51% from the line at Duke, as well as his defense, as he has proven slow on help rotations, and is far from the best leaper in college basketball.
Another player likely to be considered towards the top of the NBA Draft picks is D'Angelo Russell from Ohio State. The 18 year old, 6 ft 5 inch freshman posted 19.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG and 5.0 APG. Although he has only come into the spotlight recently at college, he is likely to commend a pick no lower than No. 5. He has been praised for his court awareness and gameplay maturity, helping those around him score more points, as well as not struggling to score himself.
Thursday's NBA Draft 2015 takes place from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York and has a start time of 7 p.m. ET. The event can be watched on TV on ESPN or online through live stream by clicking here.
Below is a complete list of selections for this year's NBA Draft 2015:
ROUND 1
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
15 Atlanta Hawks
16 Boston Celtics
17 Milwaukee Bucks
18 Houston Rockets
19 Washington Wizards
20 Toronto Raptors
21 Dallas Mavericks
22 Chicago Bulls
23 Portland Trail Blazers
24 Cleveland Cavaliers
25 Memphis Grizzlies
26 San Antonio Spurs
27 Los Angeles Lakers
28 Boston Celtics
29 Brooklyn Nets
30 Golden State Warriors
