ESPN4/28/2026SportsUnited States
NBA Unveils '3-2-1 Lottery' Anti-Tanking Reform With Relegation Zone, Expanded Odds
League proposes expanding lottery to 16 teams, penalizing bottom-three teams with fewer lottery balls starting 2027 draft
Quick Look
- The NBA has proposed a new '3-2-1 lottery' system to combat tanking, expanding the draft lottery from 14 to 16 teams and creating a relegation zone for the bottom three teams.
- Under the proposal, teams in spots 4-10 get three lottery balls, bottom-three teams get just two balls with a floor of the 12th pick, play-in teams get 1-2 balls.
- The system also blocks consecutive top picks and three straight top-five picks.
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The NBA has proposed a new '3-2-1 lottery' system to combat tanking, expanding the draft lottery from 14 to 16 teams and creating a relegation zone for the bottom three teams. Under the proposal, teams in spots 4-10 get three lottery balls, bottom-three teams get just two balls with a floor of the 12th pick, play-in teams get 1-2 balls. The system also blocks consecutive top picks and three straight top-five picks. The board of governors will vote May 28 on the plan, which would begin with the 2027 draft and expire after 2029.
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This article was originally published by ESPN.
