The NBA has upgraded its draft system with a 3-2-1 lottery system, significantly improving its anti-tanking mechanisms.

On May 29th, the NBA Board of Governors officially approved a new draft lottery system , the "3-2-1 Lottery , " aimed at reducing the incentive for teams to tank for high draft picks. The new rule will be implemented starting with the 2027 NBA draft and will continue until 2029 .

The new system expands the number of teams participating in the lottery to 16 , including teams that fail to qualify for the NBA playoffs or the NBA play-in tournament, each receiving three lottery balls. However, to incentivize teams to strive for victory, the number of the three worst-performing teams will be reduced to two , thus lowering the payout for the bottom-ranked team.

In addition, the ninth and tenth seeded teams in the East and West play-in tournaments will each receive two draw balls; while the loser of the seventh seed vs. eighth seed matchup in the East and West play-in tournaments will each receive one draw ball.

The new rules also set a " draft minimum " : relegated teams can only get the 12th pick at most, and other lottery teams can drop to the 16th pick at most. In addition, the league prohibits teams from getting the number one pick for two consecutive years and limits them to getting the top five picks for three consecutive years.

Additionally, teams are prohibited from including top 12-15 draft pick protection clauses in new trades . The league also gained greater disciplinary powers, including reducing lottery odds, adjusting draft order , and fining violations.

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