ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Wednesday that the lottery reform concept which has gained the most momentum is one that would expand the lottery to 18 teams and give the bottom 10 clubs equal odds at the top pick (8% each). The remaining 20% would be split among the eight play-in teams, with each of the top 18 spots in the draft drawn via lottery.
However, according to Kevin O’Connor of Yahoo Sports, a number of general managers who took part in a call on Tuesday to discuss the issue expressed reservations about that proposal, noting that it would give teams some incentives to tank out of the top six into play-in range — or to tank out of the play-in altogether.
“This solves nothing,” one GM said. “It could make the problem even worse just like the 14% odds did.”
As O’Connor details, some GMs expressed support for expanding the lottery to 22 teams instead of 14, since the idea of a team tanking a playoff series in order for an outside shot at the No. 1 pick is considered unlikely. Additionally, the odds would be flattened even further with 22 teams in the mix, reducing the appeal of tanking into a specific spot, O’Connor writes, since the upside would be smaller.
With the NBA looking to discourage a race to the bottom, one general manager suggested that the league’s worst three teams shouldn’t even be eligible for the No. 1 overall pick, O’Connor reports. While the league office found that suggestion to be too extreme, commissioner Adam Silver responded more enthusiastically to a proposal to slightly reduce the odds for the bottom three finishers.
If the NBA were to expand the lottery to 22 teams and slightly reduce the odds for the bottom three teams, O’Connor suggests that the result could look something like this: A 5% shot at the No. 1 pick for the bottom three teams; 6% for the other seven non-play-in teams; 5% for the play-in losers; 4% for the two worst teams among the first-round losers; 3% for the next three worst first-round losers; and 2% for the remaining three first-round losers.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:
- Who is the players’ choice for 2026 Most Valuable Player? According to Sam Amick, Josh Robbins, and Joe Vardon, the overwhelming choice among players polled by The Athletic is Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who received 62 of 159 total votes (39.0%). Nuggets center Nikola Jokic came in second with 34 votes (21.6%), while no other player earned more than 13 (8.2%). Notably, Spurs big man Victor Wembanyama finished outside the top five, though two of the players ahead of him – Pistons guard Cade Cunningham and Lakers guard Luka Doncic – may not end up being award-eligible due to the 65-game rule.
- Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN spoke to executives, coaches, and scouts around the NBA to get a sense of which storylines they’ll be watching closest during the postseason. Those storylines include the Cavaliers‘ defensive regression, the Spurs‘ shooting surge, and Jalen Duren‘s ability to be a second option on a Finals team. “I like Duren,” one Western Conference executive said of the Pistons center, who will be a restricted free agent this summer. “I’m terrified to give him his max (salary), but the dude is a beast. He grabs every rebound, can guard and his scoring has exceeded everything I would have expected coming into the season.”
- After 36 years at the network, veteran NBA and college football play-by-play announcer Mark Jones is leaving ESPN, reports Andrew Marchand of The Athletic. According to Marchand, this Sunday’s game between Boston and Orlando will be the final one Jones works on ESPN.
Fire Silver somehow