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Lotterython

Rules

How the 3-2-1 Lottery works

Approved by the NBA Board of Governors on May 28, 2026, for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 drafts. Sixteen teams, 37 balls, and every one of the first 16 picks is drawn.

Who gets how many balls

GroupTeamsBalls eachOdds of #1Lowest pick
Missed the Play-In
Missed the playoffs and the Play-In, except the three worst records		738.1%#16
Draft relegated (3 worst records)
The three worst records ("draft relegated")		325.4%#12
No. 9 or 10 seed
No. 9 and No. 10 seeds in each conference		425.4%#16
Lost the 7-vs-8 Play-In game
Loser of each conference's 7-vs-8 Play-In game		212.7%#16
  • The 9 and 10 seeds and the 7-vs-8 losers stay in the lottery even if they later win the 8th seed in the Play-In.
  • Each drawing picks a team weighted by its balls; that team's balls are then removed and the next pick is drawn.
  • Picks 17-30 go to the other 14 teams in inverse order of record (worst record picks 17th).
  • Newly traded picks can't carry top-12 to top-15 protections; existing ones are grandfathered.

Pick restrictions

A team's own pick (even if traded) can't be #1 in two drafts in a row, or top-5 in three drafts in a row.

  • UTA Utah Jazz: was top-5 in 2025 and 2026, so can't be top-5 in 2027.
  • WAS Washington Wizards: was #1 in 2026, so can't be #1 in 2027.

Traded 2027 firsts

Resolved after every simulated drawing, in this order. New trades are watched automatically: see the Trades page.

  1. Houston can swap its own first-round pick for Brooklyn's. Houston gets the more favorable of the two, Brooklyn the other.
  2. New York's pick goes to Brooklyn, unprotected.
  3. Phoenix's pick goes to Houston, unprotected.
  4. Atlanta's pick goes to San Antonio, unprotected.
  5. Miami's pick goes to Charlotte unless it lands 1-14. Under the 16-team lottery, picks 15 and 16 are lottery picks that do convey.
  6. Dallas's pick goes to Charlotte unless it lands 1-2.
  7. The Lakers' pick goes to Memphis unless it lands 1-4.
  8. San Antonio's pick goes to Sacramento if it lands 1-16 and to Oklahoma City if it lands 17-30.
  9. New Orleans gets the more favorable of its own and Milwaukee's picks; Atlanta gets the other. If both land in the top four, New Orleans gets both.
  10. Memphis gets the most favorable of Cleveland's, Minnesota's and Utah's picks; Utah the second most favorable; Phoenix the least. If Utah's pick is top-5, Utah keeps it, Memphis gets the better of Cleveland's and Minnesota's, and Phoenix the worse.
  11. Oklahoma City gets the two most favorable of its own, the Clippers' and Denver's picks (Denver's is top-5 protected). If Denver's pick is top-5, Denver keeps it and Oklahoma City gets the better of its own and the Clippers'.
  12. The Clippers get the more favorable, and Toronto the less favorable, of Toronto's pick and the pick left over from the Oklahoma City arrangement.

Assumptions (VERIFY)

The NBA hasn't published these details. Lotterython's odds rely on the following until it does.

  • How the #12 floor is enforced. The NBA says relegated teams can't fall below #12 but hasn't published the drawing mechanics. Lotterython draws picks 1 to 16 in order and, once the relegated teams still waiting would exactly fill the open slots up to #12, restricts the draw to them.
  • What happens when a restricted team's ball comes up. Assumed: the team moves to its first permissible open slot and that slot is drawn again (as reported by Yahoo Sports / Kevin O'Connor; not in the official release).
  • Tiebreakers. Ties at the three-worst cutoff and in picks 17-30 are broken by a random drawing, the NBA's long-standing convention. The site uses a coin flip seeded by the date and shows a "Tie — coin flip" tag.
  • Mid-season Play-In. Before the Play-In, each conference's current 8 seed stands in as the 7-vs-8 loser with 1 ball, and the 7 seed is treated as a playoff team. Real results replace this after the Play-In.

Sources