A few words from the Godfather

A few words from the Godfather

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A few words from the Godfather
A few words from the Godfather
The NBA is a prisoner of a lottery that is killing parity and the league's integrity
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The NBA is a prisoner of a lottery that is killing parity and the league's integrity

Do away with it completely and let the worst teams tank it out for the best player

Dwight Jaynes's avatar
Dwight Jaynes
May 13, 2025
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A few words from the Godfather
A few words from the Godfather
The NBA is a prisoner of a lottery that is killing parity and the league's integrity
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Photo by Alejandro Garay on Unsplash

At what point does the NBA recognize and admit the unfairness of its annual draft? It has become a mechanism designed to do exactly opposite of what a draft is supposed to do — help foster parity by allowing the worst teams to draft the best players.

But that isn’t happening. For three years in a row the worst team in the league has ended up with the fifth pick. This year that’s Utah. Washington, the second-worst team, drew the sixth pick.

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