NBA Draft 2015: Date, Selection Order, Lottery Predictions and Top Prospects
Wednesday marked the end of the NBA regular season, so the 14 teams that failed to qualify for the playoffs can shift their attention to the 2015 draft.
New York City will play host to the annual spectacle on Thursday, June 25, where the hometown Knicks could well have the No. 1 overall pick. The draft lottery will happen on May 19, so there's still a fair amount of time before the top of the order is set in stone.
ESPN draft expert Chad Ford tweeted the final lottery odds:
Going off of the freshly finalized standings, decent inferences can be made as to where the top stars in the 2015 class might land.
Read on for some basic draft coverage information, projected lottery picks and a breakdown of the best draft prospects.
| 1 | Minnesota Timberwolves |
| 2 | New York Knicks |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers |
| 4 | Los Angeles Lakers |
| 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 (via Brooklyn Nets) |
| 16 | Boston Celtics |
| 17 | Milwaukee Bucks |
| 18 | Houston Rockets (via New Orleans Pelicans) |
| 19 | Washington Wizards |
| 20 | Toronto Raptors |
| 21 | Chicago Bulls* |
| 22 | Dallas Mavericks* |
| 23 | Portland Trail Blazers |
| 24 | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| 25 | Memphis Grizzlies* |
| 26 | San Antonio Spurs* |
| 27 | Boston Celtics (via Los Angeles Clippers)* |
| 28 | Los Angeles Lakers (via Houston Rockets)* |
| 29 | Brooklyn Nets (via Atlanta Hawks) |
| 30 | Golden State Warriors |
Date: Thursday, June 25, 2015
Location: New York City
TV: ESPN
Live Stream: WatchESPN
| 1 | Minnesota Timberwolves | Karl-Anthony Towns, PF/C, Kentucky |
| 2 | New York Knicks | Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke |
| 3 | Philadelphia 76ers | D'Angelo Russell, PG/SG, Ohio State |
| 4 | Los Angeles Lakers | Emmanuel Mudiay, PG, China |
| 5 | Orlando Magic | Justise Winslow, SF, Duke |
| 6 | Sacramento Kings | Kristaps Porzingis, PF, Latvia |
| 7 | Denver Nuggets | Mario Hezonja, SF, Croatia |
| 8 | Detroit Pistons | Frank Kaminsky, F/C, Wisconsin |
| 9 | Charlotte Hornets | Willie Cauley-Stein, C, Kentucky |
| 10 | Miami Heat | Myles Turner, PF/C, Texas |
| 11 | Indiana Pacers | Stanley Johnson, SF, Arizona |
| 12 | Utah Jazz | Sam Dekker, SF, Wisconsin |
| 13 | Phoenix Suns | Kevon Looney, PF, UCLA |
| 14 | Oklahoma City Thunder | Devin Booker, SG, Kentucky |
Top Prospects
Karl-Anthony Towns, PF/C, Kentucky
The race between Towns and Jahlil Okafor to be the top pick figures to be fascinating, and it's hard to give the nod to either without the order set right now.
Based on how he would fit into the equation in Minnesota, Towns gets the nod over Okafor for now, and his all-around game is just better. Towns has the jumper Okafor lacks, plays with superior effort and is a far more advanced rim protector and all-around defender.
FanSided's Corey Price highlights how prolific Towns was during the 2014-15 campaign:
Towns managed to stand out on a loaded Kentucky team featuring seven early entrees to the 2015 draft. He made serious strides on offense as his freshman season wore on, though he isn't the post force Okafor is.
What the Timberwolves could use most is a defensive presence in the paint, and Towns' ability to play the 4 or 5 accounts for whatever Minnesota decides to do with expensive, oft-injured center Nikola Pekovic. Okafor could be a more feasible option if the team wants to trade Pekovic away.
Both 2014 first-round picks that fell into the Timberwolves' hands, Andrew Wiggins and Zach LaVine, are freakish athletes who are putting on some phenomenal shows to close out their rookie years. Adding Towns to the mix with Ricky Rubio would make Minnesota a force to be reckoned with soon enough.
Jahlil Okafor, C, Duke
The Blue Devils got a big boost from Okafor late in the national championship to cut down the nets in Indianapolis. Before then, Okafor was getting dominated by Wisconsin's Frank Kaminsky and got into foul trouble.
All of the tools are present for Okafor to become one of the best NBA centers in recent memory. He just doesn't seem consistently engaged enough to take over like he's fully capable of doing.
What makes Okafor an attractive option as a top-two pick is his upside, advanced arsenal of post moves and pro-ready body. Poor free-throw shooting is a weakness Okafor ought to work hard to address, as is his general lack of a jump shot.
Ford offers his evaluation of Okafor:
"Okafor has declared for the 2015 NBA Draft. Okafor began the season as the consensus No. 1 pick in the draft. While he's been even better than advertised offensively -- the most polished big man we've seen in some time -- his pedestrian defense and lack of explosive athleticism have put his No. 1 status in doubt. He still has a shot at it, but he's more Likely to go No. 2 or 3.
"
The Knicks need someone to take the pressure off of Carmelo Anthony, who too often is playing hero ball in isolation, which throws off New York's collective rhythm. Having a huge, polished post player in Okafor to dump the ball to would go a long way in helping reverse the Knicks' fortunes.
Chances are New York will have the shot to take either Okafor or Towns. If choosing second overall, the decision becomes a lot easier. However, president Phil Jackson and Co. face a crossroads decision regardless and must nail the pick.
With the roster in such disarray, frankly any lottery pick will help New York. Long thought to be the shoo-in for No. 1 overall, at least Okafor shouldn't fall out of the top two.
D'Angelo Russell, PG/SG, Ohio State
Emmanuel Mudiay will be mentioned and argued for as the top guard in the draft thanks to his upside. But what Russell did at Ohio State is hard to ignore.
Some knock his lackluster athletic ability, but dare I say there's a bit of a Stephen Curry—the Davidson edition—feel to Russell's game.
Russell can come off screens or create off the dribble, with plenty of range to extend to the NBA three-point line. The Buckeyes phenom has tremendous ball-handling skills that allow him to cross opponents over, penetrate and dish dimes to teammates on a regular basis.
Tony Jones of the Salt Lake Tribune has a lauding take that lies outside of the mainstream opinion:
With such a tremendous all-around skill set and undeniable instincts, Russell projects well as a point guard or at the 2 in the NBA. His outside shooting is far better than Mudiay's, and he's more of a known stateside commodity than other overseas prospects.
If it's the Philadelphia 76ers in that spot, they'd be faced with a tough choice between Mudiay and Russell. Neither would be a bad option, because both have the tools to be career starters and cornerstones for any team that lands them.
What any of these top picks boil down to is how a player fits on the roster. Since there's still plenty of unknown there, it's tough to gauge where anyone might go.
On the strength of his crafty offensive game and basketball intelligence, the slight edge goes to Russell as the third-best prospect in the 2015 class.
