National Basketball League has been thinking about draft lottery reform for some time now, and the reform proposal from commissioner Adam Silver has made its way to the board of governors voting on Thursday. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the reform passed with 28 votes in favor, 1 no and 1 abstained. The changes will be instituted for 2019 NBA draft.
Sources: The NBA's draft lottery reform passed 28-1-1. Oklahoma City voted "No" and Dallas abstained. NBA needed 3/4th majority for passage.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 28, 2017
According to the reform, 3 worst teams in the league will have the same chances (14 percent) of getting the No.1 pick in the draft. The current draft lottery structure gives the team with the worst record 25 percent chance to win the top pick, 2nd worst has 19.9 percent and the 3rd has 15.6 percent chance. You can check the full future lottery odds on NBA’s official website.
“NBA Draft Lottery reform is a meaningful step in our continuous effort to enhance the quality of our games,” said Byron Spruell, NBA President, League Operations. “These changes were necessary to improve the competitive incentives for our teams.”
NBA draft lottery reform wasn’t the only thing NBA Board of Governors agreed upon. They have also decided to take on the issue of teams resting healthy players. The policy for resting healthy players will become effecting from the 2017-2018 season and states the following:
- Teams are prohibited from resting healthy players for any high-profile, nationally televised game. Any violation of this provision will constitute conduct prejudicial or detrimental to the NBA and result in a fine of at least $100,000.
- Absent unusual circumstances, a team should not rest multiple healthy players for the same game or rest healthy players when playing on the road.
- In situations when teams decide to rest healthy players, the players should be visible and available to interact with fans.
- Any team that violates this policy, or otherwise rests a healthy player in circumstances that are prejudicial or detrimental to the league, is subject to discipline by the NBA.
