NBA Draft Lottery Reform Voting To Be Held Wednesday

The NBA’s Board of Governors will meet Wednesday to vote on reforms to the NBA Draft aimed at keeping teams from tanking, but the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder are two teams known to oppose the reforms.

The NBA’s Board of Governors are reportedly expected to pass reforms to the NBA Draft on Wednesday that would drastically alter the odds of the four teams with the worst records in the league of getting the top overall pick. The vote needs 23 of the 30 teams to approve the reforms, and while it’s still expected to pass, both the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Philadelphia 76ers oppose the reforms.

More from NBA

The proposed changes would give the worst four teams an approximately 11 percent chance of landing the top pick in the NBA Draft, as opposed to the current rules, which give the worst team in the league a 25 percent chance, and the second-worst team with a 19.9 percent chance of the first pick. Under the current system, the odds decrease from the worst record at 25 percent, to the last pick in the lottery (pick number 14) at around 0.5 percent of the top pick. The rest of the draft goes in the reverse order of how the teams finished. The new rules would give the fifth-worst team an approximately 10 percent shot at the top pick, which isn’t far off from the current system, as last year the Boston Celtics had a 10.3 percent chance of landing at the top.

Given the major changes to the NBA Draft in the proposed reform would be for the odds of the teams with the four worst records, the 76ers’ opposition to the changes isn’t surprising; Philadelphia has been fairly blatant the past couple years regarding the direction of the team, and is essentially fielding a squad designed to lose games. Considering that it’s often far worse to be mediocre in the NBA than awful, the choice by the 76ers to plan for the future isn’t surprising, and the reforms could really hinder their process.

The Thunder’s opposition isn’t quite as clear, but Oklahoma City is regarded as less of a marquee destination for free agents, so it’s possible the Thunder are simply trying to protect themselves in the event Kevin Durant does bolt in free agency in the summer of 2016. The Thunder built their current roster in part through shrewd drafting, so this could simply be the Thunder taking the long-term picture of what’s best for their organization.

Regardless, the reforms are expected to pass tomorrow:

The NBA’s Board of Governors will meet Wednesday to vote on reforms to the NBA Draft aimed at keeping teams from tanking, but the Philadelphia 76ers and Oklahoma City Thunder are two teams known to oppose the reforms.

More from FanSided