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Funkhouser · 05-13-2025, 12:51 PM

Last night the Dallas Mavericks, after finishing with the 12th worst record and narrowly missing the playoffs, won the NBA Draft Lottery. The team with the worst record in the NBA, the Utah Jazz (who blatantly tanked) ended up with the 5th overall pick.

Situations like this discourage tanking and rewards teams that attempt to be competitive. Ultimately, it results in a healthier league and more entertaining product. It got me thinking about the NHL Lottery and what it could learn from the NBA?

The NHL Lottery, for the bottom 16 teams, has 3 key rules:
-top 2 picks decided by lottery
-maximum gain of 10 places
-can only win twice in five-year period (Oilers rule)

The NBA Lottery, for the bottom 14 teams, only has 1 rule (as the Oilers aren't in the NBA):
-top 4 picks decided by lottery

Furthermore, the major difference lies in the lottery weightings in which the NBA has a lower gradation between places (I will show these in the next post).

LESSONS:
-significantly lower gradation between teams in terms of winning %
-every team has the chance to win 1st overall
-no restriction on the number of spaces one can jump

For a team like the Flames (or Flyers, or Wild, or Canucks, etc) who refuse to tank – these changes would be welcome.

05-13-2025, 12:51 PM	#1
Funkhouser Powerplay Quarterback Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: MTL Exp:	Discussion: How to fix the Draft Lottery Last night the Dallas Mavericks, after finishing with the 12th worst record and narrowly missing the playoffs, won the NBA Draft Lottery. The team with the worst record in the NBA, the Utah Jazz (who blatantly tanked) ended up with the 5th overall pick. Situations like this discourage tanking and rewards teams that attempt to be competitive. Ultimately, it results in a healthier league and more entertaining product. It got me thinking about the NHL Lottery and what it could learn from the NBA? The NHL Lottery, for the bottom 16 teams, has 3 key rules: -top 2 picks decided by lottery -maximum gain of 10 places -can only win twice in five-year period (Oilers rule) The NBA Lottery, for the bottom 14 teams, only has 1 rule (as the Oilers aren't in the NBA): -top 4 picks decided by lottery Furthermore, the major difference lies in the lottery weightings in which the NBA has a lower gradation between places (I will show these in the next post). LESSONS: -significantly lower gradation between teams in terms of winning % -every team has the chance to win 1st overall -no restriction on the number of spaces one can jump For a team like the Flames (or Flyers, or Wild, or Canucks, etc) who refuse to tank – these changes would be welcome.