Subscribe
Follow Us
Having been founded in 1989, the Minnesota Timberwolves are one of the youngest teams in the NBA. Even so, they've had more NBA Draft day mistakes than almost any other team in the league, which is largely why they have the worst all-time franchise record for NBA teams.
Anthony Edwards has been a star since they drafted him first overall in 2020. The guard from Georgia, who has become one of the best players in the NBA, has led the team to back-to-back Western Conference Finals appearances. Before that, though, the Timberwolves historically struggled mightily and have never reached the NBA Finals, let alone won a title.
In fact, Minnesota has had separate playoff droughts of seven years and 13 seasons. They'd only won a playoff series in one season before 2023-24. The organization is notorious for not only drafting busts but for selecting them ahead of megastars. So check out the gallery to see the 10 worst NBA Draft day mistakes in Timberwolves history.
10. Ricky Rubio – 2009
Ricky Rubio is one of the best players in Timberwolves history. He ranks second in both assists (3,424) and steals (845), only trailing Kevin Garnett in both of those statistics. So why was his selection at pick five one of the worst mistakes in Timberwolves history? That is because Stephen Curry went just two picks later.
Rubio was a great playmaking point guard, but Curry became arguably the best point guard ever. He is certainly the best shooter that the NBA has ever seen. Selecting Rubio over the four-time champion and two-time MVP was obviously a big mistake. It would rank much higher on this list had the team not made an even greater mistake with the next pick, but more on that later.
9. Tanguy Ngombo – 2011
Tanguy Ngombo was only drafted 57th overall in 2011, so the fact that he never came stateside to play for the Timberwolves didn't hurt the team too much. Still, his selection counts as a draft day mistake because the Timberwolves embarrassingly traded for his draft rights despite him not even being draft eligible.
Ngombo was selected as “Targuy” Ngombo, a 22-year-old from Congo. However, after the draft it was discovered that Ngombo lied about his age and was actually five years older. His age made him ineligible for the draft altogether.
8. Kris Dunn – 2016
Kris Dunn has had somewhat of a career resurgence in recent years because of his stellar defense, but he has played for seven teams – including some stints in the G-League – since he was drafted fifth overall in 2016 by the Timberwolves.
In Minnesota, although Dunn showed he can be a lockdown defender, his offensive game was so limited that the Timberwolves were willing to trade him just a year after drafting him. Dunn was used in the Jimmy Butler trade package, which was yet another move that ended up disastrous for the team.
7. Ndudi Ebi – 2003
At the turn of the century, the Timberwolves forfeited five first-round picks because of an illegal under-the-table contract that they gave to Joe Smith. The punishment was eventually reduced to just three lost first-rounders, and while the Smith contract and resulting punishment don't qualify for this list because it wasn't necessarily a draft day mistake, it can be considered their biggest draft-related mistake.
Minnesota's only first-rounder from 2000-04 came in 2003, and the team needed to nail the selection because they had so few other opportunities to build up the roster. Minnesota owned just the 26th pick, but they couldn't afford a miss. That didn't keep them from drafting a raw high schooler by the name of Ndudi Ebi, though. Ebi lasted just 19 games in the NBA before he was out of the league.
6. Jarrett Culver – 2019
In 2019, the Timberwolves packaged Dario Saric and the 11th pick, which became Cam Johnson, for sixth overall pick Jarrett Culver. The Texas Tech product was coming off of a national championship game appearance. He had star potential, but at the bare minimum, it was believed he could be a 3-and-D role player. Culver became neither of these in Minnesota. Culver struggled with efficiency and was traded after just two seasons.
5. Wesley Johnson – 2010
Wesley Johnson is perhaps most known for being on the wrong end of a James Harden step-back highlight. Before that, he was a failed draft pick by the Timberwolves. Minnesota took Johnson fourth overall in 2010. As did most Minnesota draft selections around this time, Johnson didn't last long with the team. The forward from Syracuse was traded after just two years.
4. Brandon Roy – 2006
Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
The Timberwolves owned the sixth overall pick in 2006, and they used it to select Brandon Roy. They traded Roy to move back just one slot and add Randy Foye. All it took for Minnesota to agree to this trade was just $1 million in cash considerations. Roy ended up becoming the vastly superior player in comparison to Foye.
Injuries eventually did haunt Roy during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers, but he had a few years as one of the best players in the NBA. Coincidentally, Roy retired with the Timberwolves after making a comeback attempt, but his stint with the team lasted just five games before he shut down his career for good.
3. Ray Allen trade – 1996
Another star guard who could have been a Wolves player is Ray Allen. The NBA's best 3-point shooter before Curry arrived was drafted by the team with the fifth pick in 1996. The Wolves packaged Allen and Andrew Lang for the player taken directly before Allen: Stephon Marbury. Marbury was a good player, but his career wasn't nearly as long or productive as Allen's. This trade makes it so that the Timberwolves passed on arguably the top two shooters ever on draft day.
2. Derrick Williams – 2011
The 2011 NBA Draft class was far from a world-beater. Kyrie Irving was picked first overall, and Klay Thompson and Kawhi Leonard were taken after the 10th pick, but everything else in between was pretty horrible. The Timberwolves' selection at pick two was arguably the worst of the bunch.
Second overall picks are supposed to be perennial All-Stars, but Minnesota ended up with an all-time draft bust in Derrick Williams. Williams played a little more than two seasons in Minnesota, only scoring 10.1 points per game despite being such a highly touted prospect. Williams' selection made three straight horrible drafts for the Timberwolves.
1. Jonny Flynn – 2009
As already mentioned, the Timberwolves took Rubio fifth overall in 2009. They double-dipped on point guards and drafted Jonny Flynn out of Syracuse with the sixth pick. Somehow, the team took the wrong floor general twice. Flynn was a much bigger bust than Rubio, though, which is why his selection was the worst draft-day mistake in the Timberwolves' history.
Flynn had a decent rookie year, averaging 13.5 points while Rubio was still stashed overseas. He had hip surgery during the proceeding offseason and was never the same, though. Flynn only played two seasons in Minnesota before Rubio took over the reins as Minnesota's point guard.
The Timberwolves actually had two more first-round picks in the 2009 NBA Draft. They took yet another point guard – Ty Lawson – 18th overall, but his draft rights were traded to the Denver Nuggets. Minnesota selected Wayne Ellington with pick No. 28.
