In the 1999 NBA Finals, a veteran Knicks squad tried to stop an up-and-coming Spurs dynasty. History may not repeat itself, but it sure does like to rhyme. Here’s what I’m watching for in the 2026 NBA Finals: https://t.co/4RTNKHp74O
The "3-2-1 lottery" is named to represent the number of lottery balls per team. Teams with a bottom-three record -- the relegation area -- have only two lottery balls. Teams that do not qualify for the playoffs or play-in tournament in spots four through 10 receive three lottery balls each.
The Nos. 9 and 10 play-in seeds in each conference receive two lottery balls each, and the losers of the 7-8 play-in games receive one lottery ball each. All 16 teams will in the drawing.
No will be able to win the No. 1 in consecutive years or be able to win three consecutive top-five picks.
@Shugo_Primo You literally can’t construct a three-man core the way the Spurs did with Wemby, Castle, and Harper. That is all my tweet said. I’m not sure where the other stuff you’re talking about is coming from - certainly not anything I said
The "3-2-1 lottery" is named to represent the number of lottery balls per team. Teams with a bottom-three record -- the relegation area -- have only two lottery balls. Teams that do not qualify for the playoffs or play-in tournament in spots four through 10 receive three lottery balls each.
The Nos. 9 and 10 play-in seeds in each conference receive two lottery balls each, and the losers of the 7-8 play-in games receive one lottery ball each. All 16 teams will in the drawing.
No will be able to win the No. 1 in consecutive years or be able to win three consecutive top-five picks.
If you don't think those things then the argument falls apart. Even under the old rules, the Spurs draft luck and success are an outlier.
These complaints are so hollow and the basis of them is that teams should be incentivized to lose to boost their draft odds. That's the only thing these people are fighting for. It's a loser mentality.
I don’t know if people think those things, but I don’t. However, I do think being able to pick in the top 5 three times in five years is going away - because it is - and that’s how the Spurs got Wemby, Castle, and Harper. Harper wouldn’t be a Spur under the new lottery rules
Do people think the draft is going away? Do they think the lottery is going away? It still exist. The only thing that changed is that losing doesn't improve your odds.
Teams that try hard to win and still suck can get the #1 pick.
Sources said the Grizzlies voted against the new lottery reform solely because of the new rule disallowing a team from picking top 5 in 3 consecutive years. As @BobbyMarks42 says, the Grizzlies have the more favorable 2027 first-rounder of Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah, and because the Jazz again have a top-5 pick this year, their first in 2027 cannot be in the top-5 under new rules.