Karl-Anthony Towns made a lot of fans in the Dominican Republic rejoice on Thursday night after he was selected first overall in the 2015 NBA Draft at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Towns, whose mother hails from the Dominican Republic and has played for the country in international competitions, will begin his NBA career with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The former Kentucky University standout was a heavy favorite to be picked first, but there were rumblings before the draft that the Timberwolves might go for Duke University star Jahlil Okafor. But in the end, the Timberwolves viewed Towns as the best player who can speed up their rebuilding process.

"My emotions are very high, I'm just so happy right now to be in this position and I can't believe that something like this would happen to a player like me and a person like me and a kid like me," Towns said of being drafted.

Towns, who averaged 10.3 points in 21.1 minutes per game during his lone season with the Wildcats, will join a young Minnesota Timberwolves squad, who are bannered by last year's first-overall pick Andrew Wiggins along with Zach LaVine and fellow 2015 first-round pick Tyus Jones.

The 19-year-old center believes he can be effective playing alongside Wiggins because of his versatility, citing his ability to knock down three-pointers and perimeter shots.

"I think I could help the team tremendously with that," Towns said of his ability to knock down shots from beyond the arc. "But I also could be on the post and open up the game in many other ways. I think the perimeter shot from me would be excellent for our team because it opens it up for Andrew Wiggins."

Timberwolves coach and president of basketball operations Flip Saunders also expects Towns to contribute on both ends of the floor. While there were rumors about them picking Okafor first overall, Saunders reiterated that he knew all along they cannot let go of the opportunity of drafting Towns, who impressed during his workout in Minnesota.

"When he came in here, it was a wrap," Saunders told the team's official website. "There were no questions about what we were going to do. People asked me, 'Are you really nervous about the draft?' and I said no, because no one can take the guy I want."

Saunders said that Towns' workout was the most impressive one he has ever seen since Kevin Garnett in 1995. Garnett, who was traded to the Timberwolves last season, is expected to become the mentor of Towns.

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