Excitement in Minnesota after Wolves select Karl-Anthony Towns

Back to relevance.

That is what thousands of suffering Minnesota Timberwolves fans have long awaited since their 2004 Conference Final run ended against the Los Angeles Lakers.

On Thursday night, the fan base of the franchise filed into the Target Center to relish a rare moment: having the number one draft pick.

With the first pick in the NBA draft, the Minnesota Timberwolves selected Kentucky big man, Karl-Anthony Towns.

If anything was a for sure in tonight's draft, it was that the Wolves wouldn't waste any time. Keeping to their game plan, they turned in the draft card almost instantly once the broadcast began to grab Towns, a versatile power forward/center.

With a noticeably young roster, Towns joins the promising talents of teammates that include the reigning rookie of the year Andrew Wiggins, Ricky Rubio, slam dunk champion Zach LaVine, and franchise star Kevin Garnett.

A feeling of enthusiasm swept across Wolves nation when Towns was chosen, but even more so when "We're going to the playoffs!" was hollered at content fans watching.

The Wolves haven't seen the playoffs in over a decade, which is currently the longest-running active drought in the NBA. Getting a struggling team off the ground in only a year may be a little ambitious, but the Wolves believe this is closer than they've been in a long time.

Constant misery, mistakes, and a long tally of losses over the last decade have led to a buildup of much needed positivity after landing the No. 1 pick in the 2015 draft.

"He's the best play and he's versatile," Saunders told fans. "He's got a chance along with Wiggins, with LaVine, with Kevin Garnett, with Ricky Rubio. There's going to be a lot of excitement."

All Wolves fans can do now, is wait and watch as their team looks to go back to how things used to be.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.