Just to confirm suspicions, the best-of-seven NBA Championship Finals are still being played. Should the New York Knicks and San Antonio Spurs series go the full route, the 2025-2026 season will conclude on June 19. The next day is the NBA Draft Lottery where college-exposed and younger hopefuls look to be selected by a team.
The Milwaukee Bucks hold the 10th selection spot and are seeking to shore up some of their personnel problems. A 32-50 record this season was the capper on a steady decline since winning the 2021 championship. For numerous reasons, things have not been on a positive trajectory despite ownership’s claims to the contrary.
Claims of “tanking,” or purposely losing to gain a better draft position, have been raised. It was reinforced by the team’s franchise player, Giannis Antetokounmpo, who injured himself again in the March 15 game, against the Indiana Pacers. He indicated his health was good enough to play, two weeks later, but management shut him down.
Whatever the reason, his desire to play alongside his two brothers, or ownership protecting a potential trade asset, the noise was loud. It triggered a response by the NBA Players Association, and later, the NBA. The results were inconclusive, and no further action was taken.
Confusing Lottery
Now comes the NBA board of governors making a statement against possible “tanking” with a measure that removes the usual format of the worst team records having the highest lottery pick. It is called the “3-2-1 Lottery.” The legislation passed by a 29-1 vote, with the Memphis Grizzlies casting the sole nay vote.
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This confusing system is effective for three seasons, starting with 2026-2027 slate. Possibly a trial balloon, it expands the draft to 16 teams, for the first 16 picks. According to the league’s press release, teams are ranked and the nine worst teams are grouped into three tiers by record: a “3” group receives three entries on the top odds pool; a “2” group get two entries; and a”1” group gets one entry.
Each team’s number of chances equates to being in proportion to their tier share in the ball lottery. The purpose is to flatten the odds by capping the maximum chances any franchise can hold. “It encourages competitive play and integrity by reducing the incentive to lose intentionally,” the document said.
Actually, this is pretty good in theory. The drawback is targeting cheap owners with lower payrolls—like some smaller market teams. Unless there’s a wrong interpretation here, they will have to spend more to get better players and loosen the purse strings to meet the salary cap.
Rising Prices?
None of these teams are broke, yet where do they think the extra funding will come from? An obvious answer is from ticket prices and freezing out families or some buddies wanting to see a game at a reasonable price. This would seem to be the logical extension, and another reason why the best seat is at home with no long lines to the refrigerator and bathroom. There is also a $40 fee for the nearby parking garages.
Regardless, this will all be televised again with all the befitting hoopla and fanfare. The question also resurfaces of whether the player wins the lottery, or the team?
The Bucks also want to make a decision on Giannis Antetokounmpo before the lottery, so they intimated at the introduction of new head coach Taylor Jenkins last month. The rumor mill is working overtime placing him with the Miami Heat, the New York Knicks, and the Philadelphia 76ers. The option of him signing a multi-year extension is also dangling.
How this plays out remains to be seen. As a lawyer once told me, “No one is ever too slow where money is concerned or finding a way to not pay for something.”