Thursday, the NBA's board of governors voted 29-1 in favor of a new anti-tanking reform to the draft lottery. The Memphis Grizzlies were the lone naysayers, according to ESPN's Shams Charania. That relates to future picks coming their way. Moving forward, teams will no longer be able to select in the top five for three consecutive years. No franchise can win the No. 1 pick in consecutive years.
Tanking is one of the most significant problems plaguing the Association. It was prevalent this year due to a high-profile draft class. The top 10 is loaded. The top four prospects are so promising that some teams had no qualms with punting on this season in hopes of landing a pick in that range.
The league had to address actions like the Utah Jazz sitting their best players in the fourth quarter, aiming to end the night with a loss. Shenanigans like that, especially when football season ends and there are even more eyeballs on the NBA, are a terrible look for the league. They had to address it.
Here's an outline of how they are doing so:
Bottom three teams: Two lottery balls each [5.4 percent odds at the No. 1 pick]
4-10th worst teams: Three lottery balls each [8.1 percent odds]Â
No. 9-10 play-in seeds: Two lottery balls each [5.4 percent odds]
Losers of the 7-8 play-in game: One lottery ball each [2.7 percent odds]
Brad Stevens' warning to the Celtics is about to come true
At his end-of-season press conference, Brad Stevens shared his thoughts on how significant the changes need to be for Boston to have a better chance at a championship next season.
Within his answer, the team's president of basketball operations cautioned that the regular season is about to become more competitive than it was this year.
"You have to consider the other teams that are at those levels, and I think the other thing that you have to consider, especially for next year, is there were a lot of teams in the NBA that were playing for draft positioning this year," stated Stevens. "That will not be the case next year. So, the league's gonna be a lot better. The regular season could be a lot harder, and it will probably give you a better indication of what everybody really is."
During his time at the podium that day, Stevens didn't shy from acknowledging that the way some of the Celtics' competitors carried themselves this season played a role in Boston building a 56-win campaign.
The lottery reform probably won't end tanking. However, it's a strong step towards Stevens' wish that every game be as competitive as possible. These changes are going to usher in a more challenging regular season. That's great news for the NBA. For the Celtics, as their president of basketball operations warned, it creates a more arduous path to a championship.
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