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New rumors about the upcoming lottery changes have leaked and were reported by Kevin O’Connor. In that reporting, some questions have been answered about changes to different pick streaks, namely: can teams pick 1st in the draft multiple times, and how often can teams pick in the top-5? Here’s what O’Connor reported:
“… there is also a rule stating that no team can land first in two consecutive drafts, or in the top five in three consecutive drafts.”
That obviously resolves a problem with a team like the San Antonio Spurs having three top-4 picks in three years. But in vintage Adam Silver fashion, by solving that problem, he’s created another unforeseen one. From O’Connor, Silver and the NBA have “decided to start the clock on these two-year and three-year streaks by looking back to the 2025 and 2026 drafts, according to league sources.” O’Connor goes on to explain:
In practice, this would mean if Washington wins the lottery again in 2027, it moves to second.
Makes sense, right? Yes ….
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But what about teams that own the rights to picks from other teams? According to O’Connor:
The streak attaches to the original team, according to league sources. In other words, if Team A has Team B’s pick in the 2027 draft as a result of a trade and that Team B pick lands first, then Team B’s own pick in 2028 would not be eligible to land first, whether it’s retained by Team B or owned by a different team. But Team A, by virtue of selecting first using Team B’s pick in 2027, would still be eligible to pick first in 2028 with its own pick or any other team’s pick.
“In the event a team’s pick is drawn in the lottery in a position where it is not permitted to be, then such team’s pick would be moved down to the first permissible position,” the league wrote in its proposal sent to teams. Continuing the above example, this would mean that if Team B popped up first in the 2028 draft, that pick would automatically be moved to the second pick instead.
Additionally, the NBA has decided to start the clock on these two-year and three-year streaks by looking back to the 2025 and 2026…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nba-rumors-lottery-rule-helps-030013982.html
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Publish date : 2026-05-24 03:00:00
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