Timberwolves select Karl-Anthony Towns 1st overall in 2015 NBA Draft

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The wait is over.

The Minnesota Timberwolves selected Kentucky center Karl-Anthony Towns with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft on Thursday night.

Towns didn't enter the season as the draft's top prospect, but made a steady ascent toward presumed No. 1 Jahlil Okafor throughout the year. Come NCAA tournament time, with Towns' role expanding on a Final Four-bound Wildcats team, momentum finally turned in the favor of the 6-foot-11, 250-pound behemoth.

"I'm just so blessed to be in this position, to be able to give back to my parents," an emotional Towns said on the broadcast.

In Towns, the Wolves have a potentially franchise-altering two-way talent. Blessed with incredible size and ridiculous athleticism - for a player any size, not just a near-7-footer - Towns would likely stand as a top prospect even if he were short on skill. But he's not, and that's why he's sounded like the choice of every team except the Timberwolves (who obviously came around) for weeks.

He's as unique as prospects come, with a rare mix of talent. Towns should make an immediate impact on the defensive end, turning away shots and covering a wide radius thanks to his length and mobility, and he'll score in the post, as a dive man, and as a shooter. The latter makes him an avatar for the elite modern big man - Towns has developed a solid interior game and learned to embrace contact inside, but he can also help stretch the floor and create for himself off the dribble.

Alongside Ricky Rubio, Andrew Wiggins, and a few other intriguing pieces, Minnesota now has an incredibly intriguing young nucleus at both ends of the floor. They have plus-defenders at the point, on the wing, and in the post, and Towns can help alleviate some of the spacing issues the current core ran into at times.

For as much as it matters, this should help John Calipari continue to land elite one-and-done prospects, as Towns joins John Wall and Anthony Davis as Kentucky products to go No. 1 since 2010.

This is a huge night for the Wolves. Don't be fooled by his modest freshman numbers - 10.3 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.3 blocks - which were depressed by how loaded Kentucky was. Towns is the best bet in the draft to develop into a top-10 NBA player.

You can read more about Towns in our scouting report.