The NBA presented three NBA Draft Lottery reforms at the Board of Governors meeting this week. Each of the three reforms is designed to combat tanking efforts by teams trying to gain an advantage in the current lottery system. Option One would see 18 teams in the Lottery. This would feature teams who finish between 7-15 in each conference. The bottom 10 teams would each have an 8 chance of winning the lottery. The remaining eight teams would each have a 2.5 chance of winning the lottery. All 18 picks would be decided by a drawing. Option Two would see 22 teams in the lottery. This would feature the teams who finish between 7-15 in each conference, plus the teams who are eliminated in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. This version would use a team's two-year combined record to slot them into the lottery order. There would also be a minimum-wins floor (25 was used as an example) in each season. If a team failed to meet that minimum-wins floor, they would be slotted as if they had won the minimum required amount of games. Option Three would again feature 18 teams in the lottery. This would be a 5x5 lottery. The bottom five teams would have equal odds and a lottery would be held for picks 1-5. That would create a floor for those teams of the 10th pick. The remaining teams would then have a lottery to determine picks 6-18, using teams that aren't in the top-five. All options are open to modification. The NBA Board of Governors is expected to vote on a new system at their May meeting. This new system will go in effect starting with the 2026-27 NBA season.
March 27, 2026