Source: NBA looks at new anti-tanking proposal for draft lottery

The NBA unveiled a new anti-tanking draft reform called the “3-2-1 Lottery” to its 30 general managers that includes expanding the lottery to 16 teams, leveling odds and a relegation zone where the bottom three teams will be penalized with fewer lottery balls. tuesday

The league office held a series of critical meetings with its board of governors, competition committee and 30 general managers over the past few weeks to narrow down the new single proposal before owners cast a final vote on May 28, sources said. The proposal may undergo minor changes, but the main points of the framework have majority support from the parties, according to those sources.

The “3-2-1 Lottery” proposal, named to represent the number of lottery balls per team, would expand the lottery from 14 to 16 teams. Teams that do not qualify for the playoffs or play-in tournaments but remain outside the relegation zone (spots four through 10) will receive three lottery balls. Teams with bottom-three records — the relegation area — will have only two lottery balls but a floor at the 12th pick while the remaining 13 lottery teams can fall to the 16th pick.

The 9th and 10th play-in seeds in each conference receive two lottery balls each while the losers of 7–8 play-in games receive one lottery ball each. Previously, the league created odds only for teams with the bottom four records in the league, while the other 10 lottery teams were ordered by the opposite record. Under this proposal, all 16 teams will be in the draw.

Additionally, no team can win back-to-back top picks or top-five picks three times in a row. Teams also won’t be able to protect picks in the 12 to 15 slots.

The proposal includes a sunset provision that would allow the new system to expire following the 2029 draft and allow the board of governors to continue the system or transition to a new one. The NBA’s current collective bargaining agreement runs through the 2029-2030 season.

The league would also expand disciplinary authority to regulate tanking, and under the proposal teams would have the option to reduce their lottery odds and/or modify teams’ draft positions.

All parties involved spent the past several months brainstorming before exploring this new, 16-team reform and developed several ideas that high-ranking officials across the NBA believe would de-incentivize losing when the lottery ball is drawn for all 16 qualifying teams. It also encourages winning, especially in the second half of the season, as teams ranked near the bottom three will be looking to climb out of the relegation zone while teams above them work to win to stay out of the relegation zone.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver made it clear in March that fixing tanking was his top priority and fundamental changes to the league’s draft system would be made to prevent it from progressing. The tanking problem is exacerbated this season because the 2026 draft class is loaded and because, as Silver points out, space incentives force teams to do what they can to maximize their chances of getting lucky in the NBA’s draft lottery each spring.

“I think ultimately it’s a decision that needs to be made at the ownership level,” Silver said after a two-day NBA board of governors meeting in March. “It has business implications, basketball implications, integrity implications for the league.

“So, it’s one that we take very seriously, and we’re going to fix it. Full stop.”