Tanking has been a big concern across the NBA lately, and this season, at least a few teams have been accused of losing games on purpose in order to increase their odds of getting the No. 1 pick in the draft. As a result, changes to the draft lottery system have been proposed and discussed.
On Thursday, the league’s Board of Governors approved a new draft lottery system that will flatten odds across the board and even increase the number of teams that will participate in the lottery, per ESPN.
“The NBA’s board of governors voted overwhelmingly Thursday to change the league’s draft lottery format beginning with the 2027 NBA draft, the league announced,” wrote Tim Bontemps.
“The new format expands the lottery from 14 to 16 teams, including the 8-seed in each conference’s playoff picture, and adds anti-tanking measures where the bottom three teams are dealt lesser chances for the No. 1 pick while flattening odds for teams that do not qualify for the playoffs or the play-in tournament.
“The new ‘3-2-1 lottery’ was put together over the past couple of months and signifies the number of ping-pong balls each of the final three teams will receive in the lottery.”
There will now be a penalty of sorts for the teams that finish with the three worst records in the NBA.
“Under this format, the teams with the three worst records will each get two ping-pong balls — while the teams with the fourth through 10th worst records will each get three balls. The three worst teams also will now have a floor of picking 12th in the draft, further disincentivizing them from wanting to be bad.
“The Nos. 9 and 10 play-in seeds in each conference will receive two lottery balls each, and the losers of the 7-8 play-in games will receive one lottery ball each. Previously, the league drew odds only for teams with the bottom four records in the league, while the other 10 lottery teams were ordered by inverse record. Under this proposal, all 16 teams would be in the drawing — one that, sources said, likely will be done live next year, either going from 1 to 16 or, more like it is unveiled currently, from 16 to 1 to build more suspense.
“Teams also will no longer be able to get the No. 1 pick in back-to-back years — meaning the Washington Wizards can’t get the No. 1 selection in 2027 after winning the lottery this year, and teams are also unable to have a top-five pick for three consecutive years, something that impacts only the Utah Jazz in 2027.
“The Jazz’s pick, which they have traded to the [Memphis] Grizzlies already, can finish no higher than sixth in next year’s draft (presuming Utah is in the lottery in the first place).
“Teams also will not be able to protect picks in the 12 to 15 slots going forward, in another practice aimed at preventing teams from building in a floor for a traded draft pick (though pick protections that have already been agreed upon will remain in place).”
This season, the Los Angeles Lakers, after struggling in December, January and February, won 16 of 18 games in late February and March, allowing them to finish 53-29. There are a few Lakers fans who felt the team should have tanked instead of making the playoffs, and if the Lakers aren’t a championship-caliber team next season, there will undoubtedly be fans calling for the squad to at least fall into the bottom play-in tournament range in order to have a shot at a high draft pick.
This year’s draft is expected to be one of the strongest in recent memory, with AJ Dybantsa, Cameron Boozer, Darryn Peterson and Caleb Wilson all considered potential superstars. The Lakers will have the No. 25 pick.
This article originally appeared on LeBron Wire: NBA Board of Governors approves new draft lottery rules
