NBA owners approve draft lottery reform, player rest guidelines: ESPN reports

Photo by Rich Arden / ESPN Images(NEW YORK) — The NBA Board of Governors on Thursday voted to pass changes to the league’s draft lottery process and to approve guidelines for resting healthy players during the regular season, ESPN reports.

The league’s owners voted on the two pieces of legislation as part of two days of meetings in New York City.

Commissioner Adam Silver had been a proponent of both proposals, but needed the approval of the owners to put them into practice. The draft lottery reform is expected to discourage teams from tanking for better odds at a top draft pick. That legislation required the support of three-fourths of the league’s owners.

The rest regulations would give Silver the power to fine teams for sitting healthy players in certain situations, including when the game in question is televised nationally. That proposal required only a simple majority.

Under the new rules, the three teams with the worst regular season records will share a 14% likelihood of receiving the top pick in the following year’s draft. Under the previous system, the worst team had a 25 percent chance of getting the top pick, with second place’s odds at 19.9 percent and third place at 15.6 percent. Additionally, one extra team will be included in the lottery draw — meaning the worst team could fall no further than fifth overall.

Teams are also going to be encouraged to rest players in home games. Those players would also be expected to sit on the bench during games and encouraged to be accessible to fans during pregame activities.

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