With the NBA Finals winding down, the eyes of the NBA internet turn to the 2025 NBA Draft. It’s a draft class dominated by the next great American hope, Cooper Flagg. Other high-level prospects include Dylan Harper, VJ Edgecombe, Kon Knueppel, and maybe Ace Bailey if he ever works out for a team.
The Minnesota Timberwolves won’t be able to draft any of these potentially franchise-changing prospects. Since Anthony Edwards’ ascent and the Rudy Gobert trade, the draft hasn’t been top of mind for the Timberwolves. However, this year is different after Tim Connelly recouped some draft capital by acquiring the Detroit Pistons’ first-round pick in the Karl-Anthony Towns trade before the season began.
The 17th pick might not sound like much when most of the offseason news is swirling around whether the Timberwolves will trade for Kevin Durant, or if Julius Randle and Naz Reid will opt out of their contracts. However, the history of the 17th pick shows us that you can find All-Star-level talent after the lottery if you know where to look.
Last year, Tennessee’s Dalton Knecht fell from what many thought would be a surefire top 10 selection into the Los Angeles Lakers’ lap at 17. Knecht contributed immediately as a rookie, averaging 9.1 points and 2.8 rebounds per game in 78 games while shooting 37.6 percent from three. Knecht was an old rookie, but looks like he will be at least a rotational player with plenty of upside as he progresses through his career. Knecht’s former Los Angeles Lakers teammate Jalen Hood-Schifino was the 17th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft. He’s only played 36 games in two seasons, but he began to show some promise in a short stint with the Philadelphia 76ers.
The player taken 17th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft was a Timberwolves target and would be the absolute dream scenario of what a theoretical 17th pick could become. Tari Eason has formed one-half of the Terror Twins in his first three seasons with the Houston Rockets. Eason is a monster defender who’s averaging 10.3 points and 6.3 rebounds per game, has shown promise to improve his three-point shot, and is an integral rotational piece going forward for the 52-win second-seeded Rockets. If whoever the Timberwolves choose with the 17th pick turns out to be as good as Eason, Tim Connelly will have done it again.
The offensive dream scenario of recent 17th picks would be the man picked 17th the year before Eson. Trey Murphy was the 17th pick in 2021. The New Orleans Pelicans brought him along slowly in Year 1, but Murphy has become one of the best sweet-shooting wings in the NBA. Murphy averaged 21.2 points, 5.1 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game in his fourth season for the Pelicans on 45.4/36.1/88.7 shooting splits. As a 6’8” 25-year-old, Murphy will be a highly coveted player for teams who think they are one piece away from contention for another decade.
Other notable 17th picks include two current Timberwolves. Nickeil Alexander-Walker was the 17th pick in 2019, and Donte DiVincenzo was the 17th in 2018. Both took a few years to get their footing, but NAW and DDV both blossomed into key contributors on a Western Conference Finals team.
- The Philadelphia 76ers took Jrue Holiday 17th overall in 2009.
- Roy Hibbert was one of the best bigs in the league before the NBA went small after the Toronto Raptors took him 17th in 2008 and traded him to the Indiana Pacers.
- Danny Granger, the 17th pick in 2005, teamed up with Hibbert to give LeBron James a scare in the early 2010s.
- Josh Smith was one of the best defensive players in the league for a decade in Atlanta.
- Jermaine O’Neal was baby Kevin Garnett for a few years in the 2000s.
- And Shawn Kemp might be the best 17th pick of all time. The Reign Man was one of the best players of the 90s and teamed up with Gary Payton to form one of the coolest dynamic duos in NBA History.
This isn’t to say that whoever the Wolves pick is destined to be a pretty good ‘remember him’ type of player 30 years from now. There’s been plenty of duds in the 17th slot. Aleksej Pokusevski, D.J. Wilson, Wade Baldwin, Rashad Vaughn, James Young, back-to-back Sean/Shawne Williams, and Zarko Cabarkapa are just a few of the busts throughout the years.
This year’s draft is filled with talent, so the Wolves should have a decent shot at picking a future rotational piece with whoever falls to 17. Thomas Sorber, Danny Wolf, Walter Clayton Jr., Jeremiah Fears, and Derik Queen are just a few names that could potentially be around when the Timberwolves pick.
Whoever the Wolves pick will need to find a way to fit in and not fit out in a rotation that expects to win a championship with Anthony Edwards. The 17th pick is a real asset, and it’s up to Tim Connelly and Chris Finch to get the biggest return on investment.