NBA Passes Anti-Tanking Lottery Reform in 29-1 Vote

Sport

By lines

May 29, 2026

NBA Draft Lottery Reform 2026 Board of Governors Vote

The NBA Board of Governors passed sweeping NBA draft lottery reform on Thursday in a 29-1 vote. The new system is called the 3-2-1 Lottery. Memphis cast the lone dissenting vote among all 30 franchises. The changes take effect beginning with the 2027 NBA Draft.

A 3-2-1 Lottery That Punishes Losing and Rewards Staying Competitive

The 3-2-1 Lottery expands the lottery pool from 14 teams to 16. The 3 worst teams in the league will receive 5.4% odds of winning the No. 1 pick. Teams finishing with the 4th through 10th worst records will each get 8.1% odds. The lottery also grants the 9th and 10th play-in seeds a 5.4% shot at the top pick.

Under the old system, the team with the worst record held the highest chance of landing the No. 1 selection. The new format flattens those odds for bottom-tier teams. Teams finishing with the 3 worst records cannot fall below the No. 12 pick in any scenario. No franchise can win back-to-back No. 1 lottery picks under the reformed rules. The NBA now gains expanded disciplinary authority over tanking. Officials can reduce a team’s lottery odds or alter draft position to punish intentional losing.

The tanking problem has loomed over the NBA since the Philadelphia 76ers ran their rebuild from 2013 through 2017. Fans and analysts called that strategy “The Process.” The Sixers held the No. 1 pick in 3 consecutive drafts between 2014 and 2016. The new system directly targets that model. No team can finish last and still hold the best lottery odds. The BOG vote of 29-1 shows near-unanimous agreement that the old system needed fixing.

The reform reshapes decision-making for rebuilding franchises starting immediately. Under the current system, finishing last gave a team its best lottery position. Under the new rules, the 4th through 10th worst teams carry better odds than the 3 worst teams. Front offices that once embraced losing now face a new trade-off. Tank fully and the lottery odds cap at 5.4%. Stay competitive and they climb to 8.1%. The losers of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in games also enter the lottery at 2.7% odds.

The new system runs through the 2029 NBA Draft. The Board of Governors will vote again before the 2030 Draft to set future rules. The 2026 NBA Draft proceeds under the old lottery format. The 3-2-1 system kicks in fully starting in 2027. Memphis was the lone franchise to vote against the changes.

The 2027 draft class will be the first tested under the new rules. Victor Wembanyama in 2023 and LeBron James in 2003 both came to their teams through the old lottery format. The BOG just voted to dismantle that system. Teams at the bottom of the standings face a different calculation this summer than any front office has faced before.