Changes Coming to the NBA Draft Lottery
If you follow and read my content, you know I proposed changing the NBA Draft Lottery a few months ago (Here’s a link to the article).
One of my suggested changes was to prevent multi-year tanking jobs that you’re seeing in places like Utah and Washington.
“A franchise can only be in the lottery for two consecutive seasons. If an organization misses the playoffs in year three, it is automatically the 14th pick in that draft. The organization would be ineligible to win the lottery, no matter the record, and then the other 13 teams would have their odds adjusted.”
Adam Silver must have been reading my suggestions. Thanks, Adam!!!
Silver’s suggestions were (per Shams Charania)
•Limiting pick protections to either top four or 14 and higher
•No longer allowing a team to draft in the top four two years in a row
•Locking lottery positions after March 1
I like locking lottery draft positions after March 1st, as long as you restrict how many consecutive bites at the apple you get at the number one pick.
It’s good to see that the NBA is starting the address what the bad teams were doing after spending multiple Collective Bargaining Agreements (CBA) restricting the teams that are trying.
Christmas Day Stars
Since the Michael Jordan years, no league has transitioned generations as well as the NBA. As the league transitions out of the LeBron James Era, the Christmas Day lineup offers a peek into what is next.
Luka Doncic heads the frontline star category. Having Doncic in Los Angeles, a staple of the Christmas Day lineup, is a blessing for the league. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is a great 1A. The reigning NBA Finals MVP is in what’s considered a small market (by the way, market sizes aren’t as important as they used to be), along with the Thunder being on a record pace until earlier this week, which makes the game against their rivals, the San Antonio Spurs, a no-brainer.
Then there’s Nikola Jokic, who is getting the Larry Bird treatment. What do I mean by that? He’s the superstar who I feel like, as time goes on, he’s criminally underappreciated. The Denver Nuggets-Minnesota game gets the “I’ve eaten too much to go to sleep” time slot of 10:30 pm Eastern Time. It’s a great match-up with, what some think is, the best American player, Anthony Edwards.
Then there are the up-and-coming players who are projected to be stars. Cooper Flagg in Dallas gets the Christmas slot, which is a no-brainer. The Mavericks-Warriors game doesn’t have the excitement that it would if Golden State were playing better, but it’s still a good bridge between the Spurs-Thunder and Lakers-Rockets.
Victor Wembanyama checks multiple boxes. He’s a young international star with legitimate superstar potential who will be playing for what will more than likely be the favorites in the 2028 Olympics, which will be held in the United States.
Wembanyama is one of the few international players who can carry the league even more than Flagg. He should be a staple on Christmas Day.
All of this, and LeBron James, Steph Curry, and Kevin Durant are also playing on what many consider an NBA holiday.
