The Minnesota Timberwolves avoided years of lottery bad luck as for the first time in franchise history will get to make the first overall pick in the draft.

This is the first time since 2004 that the team with the worst record won the lottery. And as noted by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press, the Wolves have fallen backward in draft positioning eight previous times, including twice when they had the biggest odds of winning the lottery.

"Today was very nerve wracking. I really didn't anticipate that it would go this way. People say you have a 25 percent to win, but I always look at it that there's a 75 percent chance that someone else is going to win. I just feel very honored that we have the chance to be in this position," Wolves owner Glen Taylor said.

The Wolves will likely choose between big men Karl-Anthony Towns of Kentucky, and Jahlil Okafor of national champion Duke. Whichever they pick should bode well for the franchise moving forward as they already have a collection of some nice young talent including Rookie of the Year Andrew Wiggins.

The Los Angeles Lakers also came away as a big winner in the lottery. The Lakers had the fourth worst record this past season, but will get to pick second in the draft, likely selecting whomever the Wolves passes on.

Their superstar was obviously happy, as he said "We played like crap all season so it's only right we get the #2 pick HA #lakerluck #goodday," tweeted Kobe Bryant.

The perpetually rebuilding Philadelphia 76ers will get to pick third; Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks slid back from their position and will pick fourth, while the Orlando Magic round out the top five.

The Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, Detroit Pistons, Charlotte Hornets, Miami Heat, Indiana Pacers, and the Utah Jazz, in that order round out the rest of the lottery picking teams.