Latest NBA Rumors on New Draft Lottery Changes, Timeline for Vote and Anti-Tanking Talks at Combine
After the Washington Wizards won the NBA draft lottery on Sunday, the league is reportedly set to move forward with its reformed rules for the annual event.
Kevin O'Connor of Yahoo Sports revealed that there are plans to continue discussing changes to the lottery at the draft combine in Chicago this week, and a vote will be held to finalize things by the end of this month.
"This week in Chicago at the Draft Combine, the league office will meet in person with the NBA's general managers to further discuss lottery reform. They are expected to reveal tweaks to the existing proposal. Then later this month, owners will vote on a final plan," O'Connor explained.
ESPN's Shams Charania reported that sources said the NBA "has disclosed to its 30 general managers a new anti-tanking draft reform termed the '3-2-1 lottery' that includes expanding the lottery to 16 teams, flattened odds and a relegation zone where the bottom three teams would be penalized with fewer lottery balls for the No. 1 pick, starting with the 2027 draft."
The Wizards winning the lottery in the likely final year under the current format marks the first time that the team with the worst record in the regular season landed the No. 1 pick in the last seven years. Washington went 17-65 in 2025-26, and B/R's Jonathan Wasserman predicted that the team would use the top selection in the draft to add BYU wing AJ Dybantsa.
It sounds like the NBA will no longer reward losing going forward, so teams will have to hope for good fortune amid the impending changes to the draft lottery.
