A generational basketball player is on the draft board, and the undisputed worst team in the National Basketball Association is ready to draft him, hoping to turn their franchise around. However, the worst team is not awarded the first pick, and the generational talent capable of reviving their organization is headed elsewhere. The team is now stuck in ruin for years to come.
This is the problem faced by struggling NBA teams every year as a result of the NBA draft lottery. Rather than guaranteeing the worst teams get the top picks to save their franchises, the NBA absurdly chooses to keep the ridiculous lottery system, which seemingly awards the first overall pick at random and does nothing but set back already struggling organizations. The NBA draft lottery is unfair and corrupt, and should be outlawed immediately.
As an article by NBA describes, the 14 teams who did not make the playoffs or own a pick originally from one of those fourteen teams, have a chance to receive the first overall pick. The three teams that finish with the worst records have the best chance–at 14%–to win the first pick, and the team that had the best record out of the 14 worst teams has the smallest chance, at 0.5%. The teams in between have their odds determined in the order of how well they performed in the previous season. This can prevent the teams already struggling from getting players with program-changing potential, which can further disrupt their chances of competing in the future.
The prime example of the draft lottery’s failure is the struggle of the Detroit Pistons. Last season, the Pistons finished dead last with a record of 17 wins and 65 losses, giving them the best chance possible for the number one pick in the NBA draft. Victor Wembanyama, the most anticipated player since NBA legend LeBron James, was the unanimous number one selection. However, as a result of the lottery, the Pistons ended up with the fifth pick–the worst pick they could have gotten with their odds. This was a devastating blow, as Wembanyama went on to become a young star for the San Antonio Spurs.
The next season was no better for Detroit. The effect of their draft misfortune was evident, as Detroit’s record regressed to 14 wins and 68 losses, setting the record for the longest losing streak, having lost 27 straight games. Once again, the Pistons finished dead last and had the best odds of getting the first overall pick. Despite this, their draft luck came back to haunt them, leaving them with the fifth and worst pick possible again. To add insult to injury, none of the nine worst teams were awarded the pick. It was instead given to the Atlanta Hawks, which had just a 3% chance of obtaining the best pick.
The Detroit Pistons repeated struggles can be chalked up to the future of their organization being left up to chance by the NBA. This idiotic lottery system has left the Pistons and many other teams incapable of competing each season, resulting in angry fans calling for its abolishment.
Many believe the draft is rigged to make sure a result beneficial for the NBA occurs. For Example, the New York Knicks, a very popular brand in basketball, struggled in the 1984-1985 season, and were desperate for a new talented player to head their rebuilding franchise.
Seven envelopes were dropped in a clear plastic drum, representing the seven teams in competition for the first overall pick in the 1985 draft. However, one was seen being dropped harder to the side of the drum, leaving a crease and making that envelope more identifiable to the commissioner after the envelopes were shuffled.
Suspiciously, the creased envelope was the one selected by the NBA commissioner, and that envelope belonged to the New York Knicks, awarding them with the number one pick. It just so happened that the generational new talent they were searching for was Patrick Ewing, the best collegiate player and future hall of famer.
The idea of a sure-fire basketball legend falling into one of the most prominent basketball brand’s lap with a potential fixed result never sat right with NBA fans. It has also been suggested that the creased envelope was held in a freezer prior to the lottery to make it more identifiable by the touch, ensuring the Knicks would receive the number one pick. The NBA potentially rigs the draft lottery system so that it results in a way that is beneficial for the NBA’s top brands rather than a team actually in need of new talent. Thus, the system should be outlawed to ensure all teams have a chance of getting game-changing talent.
A more recent occurrence was in the 2008 draft lottery. Struggling throughout the beginning of the 2000s, the Chicago Bulls were looking for a young player in the 2008 draft to lead the team back to glory like Michael Jordan had previously. Michael Jordan and the Bulls dynasty throughout the 1990s made the Bulls one of the most popular brands in basketball, and very valuable to the NBA.
In the 2007-2008 season, the Bulls were plagued by mediocrity, finishing as the ninth worst team in the league, and despite their struggles, still had an extremely low chance of winning the draft lottery. Derrick Rose, a point guard originally from Chicago, was widely considered the best player in collegiate basketball and the first pick in the upcoming draft.
Miraculously, the Bulls won the lottery with just a 2% chance of being awarded the number one overall pick. However, this sequence just raised already looming suspicion that the lottery was fixed behind the scenes. The Chicago Bulls, one of the most valuable sports brands of all-time, being able to select the NBA’s next star, from Chicago, even given the incredibly slim chances at hand, seemed to be the perfect scenario. To avoid any suspicion of corruption, the NBA should make the easy fix of determining the draft order by the team’s performance in the previous season.
The NBA draft lottery is a foolish system that can decimate a team’s chances of rebuilding and should be abandoned altogether. Whether it be leaving a team’s future up to chance or potentially corrupting the lottery to end it with a fixed result, the NBA draft lottery does nothing but cause major setbacks to teams already riddled with lackluster talent. Unfortunately, due to the NBA’s refusal to make the draft fair, franchises are falling deeper and deeper into the depths of failure, unable to recover from the curse the NBA has cast upon them.
