The NBA has made significant revisions to its draft lottery system, which were approved by the league’s Board of Governors. This landmark decision aims to diminish the practice of “tanking” — where teams deliberately lose games to secure a better position in the draft. A person familiar with the decision, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed to The Associated Press that the overwhelming vote was 29-1, with Memphis being the only dissenting team.
The new lottery framework, dubbed the “3-2-1 Lottery,” expands the lottery’s participant pool to 16 teams. It flattens the odds of winning the coveted No. 1 pick and adjusts the lottery chances for teams with the worst records, effectively discouraging the strategy of tanking. Under this new system, teams that finish with the three worst records will have a 5.4% chance of securing the top pick, whereas teams ranked fourth through tenth in the standings will enjoy better odds of 8.1%.
Commissioner Adam Silver had previously pledged to address the issue of tanking before the upcoming season, noting that the lottery system has undergone multiple changes over the past four decades. Starting next season, the distribution of lottery balls will be as follows:
- The losers of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in games in both conferences will receive one lottery ball each.
- The No. 9 and No. 10 seeds entering the play-in tournament will each get two lottery balls.
- The remaining ten teams that do not qualify for the playoffs or the play-in will receive three lottery balls. However, the three teams with the worst records will enter a “draft relegation,” losing one of their lottery balls as a penalty for their poor performance.
This season, tanking has emerged as a notable topic of discussion, with the Utah Jazz facing a $500,000 fine for “conduct detrimental to the league” due to their management of player minutes in critical games. The Jazz, along with other teams with low winning percentages after the All-Star break, exemplified the issues surrounding tanking this season.
Under the revised rules, teams that finish in the bottom three spots cannot fall below the No. 12 pick in the draft. Meanwhile, the seven other teams that miss the playoffs will have the best odds of securing the No. 1 pick. Even the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds in the play-in tournament will enjoy a 5.4% chance of winning the lottery, while those losing in the No. 7 vs. No. 8 games will have a 2.7% chance.
Additional stipulations in the new plan include restrictions preventing any team from winning back-to-back No. 1 picks and expanded disciplinary measures to combat tanking. These measures could involve adjusting teams’ lottery odds or altering their draft positions if tanking is suspected.
The new draft lottery rules will remain in effect until at least 2029, with the Board of Governors expected to vote again on whether to extend or revise the plan before the 2030 lottery.
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AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba
