SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Jazz are done trying to rig the lottery in their favor, and the timing could not be any better.
A radical new lottery format will take effect next summer, making it harder than ever to build through the draft.
Related: Why are Jazz bringing Mikel Brown in for a draft workout?
New lottery reform punishes worst teams
On Thursday, the NBA’s Board of Governors approved a sweeping overhaul of the league’s lottery system, introducing newfound chaos into the annual offseason event.
Instead of determining only the top four picks, with selections 5-14 corresponding to league standings, the lottery will now be used to decide the top 16 picks in the 2027 draft.
And, the worse a team performs, the less control it has over its lottery odds.
In the past, the team with the worst record was guaranteed no worse than the No. 5 pick. The Jazz, for example, landed Ace Bailey with the fifth selection after finishing with a league-worst 17-65 record in 2025.
The NBA’s new draft lottery odds, visualized ⬇️ https://t.co/bUdgWPReF9 pic.twitter.com/IizHm5nL3M
— Lev Akabas (@LevAkabas) May 28, 2026
Under the new system, the teams with the three worst records face a 25 percent chance of falling as low as No. 12.
The new format has been dubbed the “3-2-1 model,” named for how many lottery balls teams now receive.
The three worst teams in the league will be relegated to two lottery balls each, while teams ranked 4-10 will receive three balls.
Teams with the 11th-14th worst records will get two balls each, while the two teams that lose the 7-8 play-in matchups will receive one ball apiece.
The league hopes the changes will discourage teams from stacking late-season losses to rebuild through the lottery. But, instead of taking a scalpel to the previous system to further regulate tanking, the NBA opted for a sledgehammer.
New system makes lottery unpredictable
Under the previous system, the NBA’s three worst teams each had a 14 percent chance of winning the top pick, and a 45 percent chance of staying in the top four. Those odds were high enough that teams would sacrifice entire seasons’ worth of competition in hopes of landing a franchise-changing pick.
It’s what the Jazz have done for the greater part of the last four years.
The NBA Board of Governors today approved a new NBA Draft Lottery system designed to eliminate incentives for teams to prioritize their position in the Draft over winning games.
Full release: https://t.co/I42k5HeUV0
Additional information regarding the new system, including the… pic.twitter.com/o1QItNPIit
— NBA Communications (@NBAPR) May 28, 2026
With Thursday’s changes, those same teams now have just a 5.4 percent chance of landing the No. 1 pick and a 22.4 percent chance of remaining in the top four.
Teams can still benefit from winning the lottery, but it no longer stands as a viable standalone rebuilding strategy.
The Jazz were able to trade Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert in 2022, understanding that with a few years of heartache, the lottery would reward them with enough talent to safely exit their rebuild.
Now, teams hoping to follow a similar path are far more likely to end up in NBA purgatory, not good enough to compete for the playoffs, and a lottery system that doesn’t provide an easy way out.
Utah Jazz exiting lottery at the right time
The Jazz have yet to prove they belong in the playoff picture, but continuing to rely on the draft to build the roster would have been a fool’s errand.
Franchises will still try to sell even a five percent chance at the top pick to their fanbase in bad seasons, but under the new system, that approach is a poor strategy for rebuilding.
Between winning the coin toss with the Kings, then moving up to 2 in the lotto, then these upcoming reforms retroactively hurting the Grizzlies in the JJJ trade, the Jazz are walking away from the lottery business on a hot streak. https://t.co/G5Zp1xwEIN pic.twitter.com/7sQLFw9teb
— Ben Anderson (@BensHoops) May 25, 2026
Utah already has Jaren Jackson Jr., Lauri Markkanen, Keyonte George, and Ace Bailey on the roster. With Walker Kessler and the No. 2 overall pick likely to join them this summer, the Jazz have enough talent on the team without further depending on lottery luck.
Whether by design or good fortune, the Jazz have put the lottery in their rearview mirror, and it couldn’t have come at a better time.
Other teams might not be so lucky.
Are you on Instagram? Let’s connect, give us a follow @kslsports.
Download the new & improved KSL Sports app from Utah’s sports leader. You can stream live radio, video and stay up to date on all of your favorite teams.
Ben Anderson is the Utah Jazz insider for KSL Sports and the co-host of Jake and Ben from 2-6pm with Jake Scott on 97.5 The KSL Sports Zone. Find Ben on Twitter at @BensHoops, on Instagram @BensHoops, or on BlueSky.
Follow @benshoops
Follow @kslsports
Like us on Facebook
