On the same day the Timberwolves won Game 4 against San Antonio to knot the Western Conference semifinals at 2-2, the NBA Draft Lottery was held, with Washington nabbing the top pick.
It’s the moment where the attention of many starts to shift from the season that’s already complete for 22 of the League’s 30 teams to what’s to come in next month’s draft.
Mock drafts dropped in batches immediately following the lottery results. And most prognosticators foresee the Timberwolves selecting a guard with the 28th overall selection.
Here’s a list of who’s mocked to Minnesota, and why:
The Athletic
The pick: Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie
The reason: The Timberwolves tried to make Rob Dillingham work in a draft day trade that ultimately didn’t work out, so let’s give them another shot at the lead guard position with a dynamic athlete and creator next to Anthony Edwards. I’m a buyer on Okorie’s ability with the ball in his hands. He’s constantly in attack mode, averaging 23.2 points per game as a freshman while shooting solid clips of 46.5 percent from the field, 35.4 percent from 3 and 83.2 percent from the line. He’s lightning quick, with the ability to zoom in and out of tight windows in the paint. He drives an immense amount of shots at the rim thanks to that ability to slink through the little cracks in the defense.
So why isn’t he higher? Well, he only made 52 percent of those shots at the rim in half-court settings, per Synergy, meaning he wasn’t wildly effective when he got there. He also averaged 7.3 free-throw attempts per game to make himself efficient. While he shot that solid mark from 3, teams want to see more of him as a shooter. Still, I’m betting Okorie has an impressive pre-draft process, if only because it’s hard to imagine a player more well-suited to three-on-three workouts like the ones that NBA teams employ.
CBS Sports
The pick: Texas forward Dailyn Swain
The reason: Swain is a polarizing prospect. At 6-foot-7 he can play off the bounce, create for himself and others, and has real defensive tools. The shooting is a major swing skill for Swain, which has improved within the last year. If it continues to evolve, Swain could end up being a steal here and a nice fit alongside Anthony Edwards and company.
ESPN
The pick: Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie
The reason: Okorie put together what could wind up as a surprise one-and-done campaign at Stanford, coming in as a relatively unheralded recruit then averaging 23.2 points on his way to an All-ACC selection. A tough-minded and shifty scorer who is undersized and slight for his position, it remains to be seen how high he can rise in a deep point guard class, with the option to return to school and enter a thinner 2027 draft still available to him.
The Timberwolves could use a reserve ball handler to help stabilize the position long term, with Okorie’s microwave scoring talent a potential fit off the bench.
The Ringer
Isaiah Evans
Duke's Isaiah Evans (3) attempts a 3-pointer over Virginia's Malik Thomas (1) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in Durham, N.C., Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown)
The pick: Duke guard Isaiah Evans
The reason: The Wolves are stuck in a flat circle that leads to the same thought every time the draft rolls around: Sure would be nice to add a competent ball handler to this rotation. This is a guard-heavy class, and for that reason, I don’t doubt that most will see this pick as a chance for Minnesota to snag one.
I just can’t help but think that the Rob Dillingham experiment will dissuade them from drafting a small and defensively vulnerable player again, especially so soon. Evans fits the Minnesota brand in that he’s lanky, exceedingly confident, and more than willing to get his nose dirty as a help defender around the basket. He’s also a player archetype that the Wolves don’t really have on their roster at this point: a versatile floor spacer with ideal size for a wing.
SB Nation
The pick: Vanderbilt guard Tyler Tanner
The reason: Tanner deserves to be a first-round pick if he stays in the draft, but his lack of size could push him down the order. The 6-foot guard became one of college basketball’s best players as a sophomore by unleashing his athleticism at both ends and improving as a shooter. He plays with a rare physicality for someone under 175 pounds, which gives him some defensive utility despite his lack of size. Tanner is super fast, a smart playmaker, and a daring finisher off his drives. He’d be a steal in this range.
Yahoo Sports
The pick: Texas Tech guard Christian Anderson
The reason: Just look at how crucial Mike Conley still is to the Timberwolves in these playoffs. But he’s 38. And Ayo Dosunmu and Bones Hyland will both be upcoming free agents. The Wolves might need a guard. Anderson showed up at Texas Tech as the 101st-ranked recruit and has played his way into the first-round conversation behind dynamic pick-and-roll creation and knockdown perimeter shooting. He does a good job of creating easier shots for his teammates, but at his small stature he hasn’t shown a consistent ability to get to the rim with any regularity. And any small guard will always be a target on defense, so there’s a lot of pressure on his shot translating to the next level.