Overview
- The league’s preferred ‘3-2-1’ blueprint, circulated to team executives this week, heads to a Board of Governors vote on May 28 with implementation targeted for the 2027 draft and a review in 2029.
- The proposal expands the lottery to 16 teams with all 16 picks drawn, giving the fourth‑ through 10th‑worst clubs three ping‑pong balls each, the bottom three two balls each, and select play‑in losers one ball.
- The weighting would produce roughly 8.1% No. 1 odds for the three‑ball tier, 5.4% for the two‑ball tier, and 2.7% for one‑ball teams, and the worst records could slide as far as 12th.
- Guardrails include no back‑to‑back No. 1 picks and no three straight top‑five selections, limits on protecting traded picks in the 12–15 range, and new authority for the league to reduce odds or adjust slots if it finds tanking.
- The 2026 lottery still runs under current rules on Sunday, May 10 at 3 p.m. ET in Chicago, and trade protections matter now, with Indiana’s pick conveying to the Clippers if it lands fifth or sixth as confirmed by the Pacers’ GM.