2027 NBA Draft Lottery: Odds, history and how it works

Here’s how the 3-2-1 Draft Lottery system will work in 2027.

2027 Draft Oder:

Picks 1-60

Inside the NBA’s plan to revamp the Draft Lottery

> What is the NBA Draft Lottery?

The NBA Draft Lottery determines the order of selection for the first 16 picks of the NBA Draft. Lottery balls allocated to all 16 participating teams will be drawn to determine the order of selection for the first 16 picks in the first round of the NBA Draft.

Each team participating in the Draft Lottery will receive

three

,

two

or

one

lottery ball for the drawing:

Teams that do not qualify for the NBA Playoffs or NBA Play-In Tournament will receive three lottery balls each, except that – to provide an increased incentive to win – the teams with the three worst records will be “draft relegated” and lose one of their lottery balls.

The No. 9 and No. 10 Play-In seeds in each conference will receive two lottery balls each.

The losers of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 Play-In games in each conference will receive one lottery ball each.

The order of selection for the remainder of the first round (Nos. 17-30) is determined by reverse order of regular-season record among the 14 teams not participating in the Draft Lottery. The order for the entire second round (Nos. 31-60) is determined by reverse order of regular-season record among all 30 teams. Each NBA team is allotted one selection in each round, subject to trades and forfeitures.

The NBA Board of Governors

approved the new “3-2-1” system for 2027

with a design to eliminate incentives for teams to prioritize their position in the Draft over winning games. The 3-2-1 Lottery will be in effect for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 NBA Drafts. Rules governing selection order beginning with the 2030 NBA Draft will be determined by a vote of the Board of Governors.

> When is the 2027 NBA Draft Lottery?

The key dates for the entire 2027 NBA Draft process, including the Draft Lottery, have yet to be announced.

> Which teams will participate in the 2027 NBA Draft Lottery?

The 16 teams eligible for the 2027 NBA Draft Lottery are the 10 teams that do not qualify for the NBA Playoffs or NBA Play-In Tournament, the No. 9 and No. 10 Play-In seeds in each conference and the losers of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 Play-In games in each conference.

Lottery Teams

# Of Teams

Lottery Balls in 3-2-1 System

Three worst records

3

2*

Remaining non-Play-In teams

7

9th and 10th Play-In seeds

4

2

Losers of 7 vs. 8 Play-In Games

1

* The teams with three worst records will be “draft relegated” and lose one of their lottery balls

Pick Floors:

Each draft-relegated team will receive, at worst, the No. 12 pick in the NBA Draft. All other lottery teams can fall as far as the No. 16 pick.

• Pick Restrictions:

No team’s pick will be permitted to be the first pick in two consecutive NBA Drafts or a top-five pick in three consecutive NBA Drafts. These restrictions will apply only to each team’s own pick without regard to whether that pick has been retained by the team or traded to (and thus held by) another team.

• Pick Protections:

Teams will be unable to attach top-12 through top-15 protections to newly traded draft picks.

• Discipline:

The league will have expanded disciplinary authority to address tanking, including the ability to reduce teams’ lottery odds, modify teams’ draft positions and impose significant fines on offending teams.

> What are the odds for each team in the Draft Lottery?

Below are the odds for the 3-2-1 lottery system and the probability of being awarded the first overall draft pick for teams in NBA Draft Lottery 2027.

> What about picks 17-60?

> What is the history of the NBA Draft Lottery and when was it first used?

—

1966-1984

: From 1966 through 1984, the NBA team that finished with the worst record in each conference participated in a coin flip. The team that won the coin flip received the No. 1 overall pick in the NBA Draft. The team that lost the coin flip received the No. 2 overall pick. The remaining teams picked in inverse order of their regular-season records.

1984

: The NBA Board of Governors voted to adopt a lottery system among the non-playoff teams (or the teams holding their picks through trades) to determine their order of selection in the first round of the NBA Draft, beginning in 1985. Teams would pick in inverse order of their regular-season records in the second round (or, before the draft was reduced to two rounds in 1989, in all succeeding rounds).

1986

: Under a procedural change adopted by the Board of Governors, the lottery would determine the order of selection for the first three teams only. The remaining non-playoff teams would select in inverse order of their regular-season records. Therefore, the team with the worst record would be assured of picking no worse than fourth, the team with the second-worst record no worse than fifth and so on.

1989

: The NBA Board of Governors adopted a weighted system, beginning with the 1990 NBA Draft Lottery, which included 11 teams due to expansion (Charlotte and Miami joined the NBA for the 1988-89 season and Minnesota and Orlando followed in 1989-90). The team with the worst regular-season record received 11 chances at the top pick (out of a total of 66), the second-worst team got 10 chances and the team with the best record among the non-playoff teams was given one chance.

1993

: The NBA Board of Governors approved a modification that, effective with the 1994 NBA Draft Lottery, increased the chances of the teams with the worst records to win one of the top three picks while decreasing the chances of the teams with the best records. The new system increased the chances of the team with the worst record of drawing the first pick from 16.7 percent to 25 percent, and it decreased the chances of the team with the best record among lottery teams from 1.5 percent to 0.5 percent.

1995

: The NBA Board of Governors increased the number of teams participating in the lottery from 11 to 13 to account for the addition of expansion teams Toronto and Vancouver. Starting in 1996, the team with the worst record would continue to have a 25 percent chance of winning the first pick. Teams two through six would have slightly fewer chances, team seven would have the same chances and teams eight through 12 would have slightly more chances. The number of chances for team 13 did not change.

2004

: The 2004 NBA Draft Lottery increased to 14 teams with the addition of the Charlotte Bobcats. However, as part of their expansion agreement, the Bobcats were locked into the fourth position in the 2004 NBA Draft and therefore did not have a chance to receive other picks in the lottery.

2017

: The NBA Board of Governors approved changes to the lottery system effective with the 2019 NBA Draft, reducing the odds so that the teams with the three worst records would share the same chance (14 percent) of receiving the No. 1 overall draft pick. The odds for the remaining participants in the 14-team lottery would be reduced gradually after the top three. Drawings would be conducted for the first four picks of the NBA Draft. The other lottery teams would continue to pick in inverse order of their regular-season record.

2026

: The NBA Board of Governors

approved changes

to the lottery system effective with the 2027 NBA Draft, creating a system designed to eliminate incentives for teams to prioritize their position in the Draft over winning games. The “3-2-1 Lottery” expanded the lottery from 14 to 16 teams and flattened odds among teams that do not qualify for the NBA Playoffs or NBA Play-In Tournament. The 3-2-1 Lottery will be in effect for the 2027, 2028 and 2029 NBA Drafts. Rules governing selection order beginning with the 2030 NBA Draft will be determined by a vote of the Board of Governors.

> Who won the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery?

The Washington Wizards

won the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery

, which was conducted on May 10, 2026, at the Navy Pier in Chicago.

Watch the full 2026 NBA Draft Lottery drawing from Chicago that resulted in the Washington Wizards receiving the No. 1 overall pick.

2026 Lottery Results

Washington

Utah

Memphis

Chicago

LA Clippers (via Indiana)

Brooklyn

Sacramento

Atlanta (via New Orleans)

Dallas

Milwaukee

Miami

Oklahoma City (via LA Clippers)

Charlotte

•

2026 NBA Draft: 1-60 Draft Order

> What is the all-time list of winning lottery teams?

Year

|

Team with No. 1 Pick

Winning Odds

Player Taken

2026:

Washington Wizards

14.00%

| AJ Dybantsa

2025:

Dallas Mavericks |

1.8%

| Cooper Flagg

2024:

Atlanta Hawks |

3.00%

| Zaccharie Risacher

2023:

San Antonio Spurs |

| Victor Wembanyama

2022:

Orlando Magic |

| Paolo Banchero

2021:

Detroit Pistons |

| Cade Cunningham

2020:

Minnesota Timberwolves |

| Anthony Edwards

2019:

New Orleans Pelicans |

6.00%

| Zion Williamson

2018:

Phoenix Suns |

25.00%

| Deandre Ayton

2017:

Boston Celtics |

| Markelle Fultz

2016:

Philadelphia Sixers |

| Ben Simmons

2015:

| Karl-Anthony Towns

2014:

Cleveland Cavaliers |

1.70%

| Andrew Wiggins

2013:

15.60%

| Anthony Bennett

2012:

New Orleans Hornets |

13.70%

| Anthony Davis

2011:

2.80%

| Kyrie Irving

2010:

Washington Wizards |

10.30%

| John Wall

2009:

Los Angeles Clippers |

17.70%

| Blake Griffin

2008:

Chicago Bulls |

| Derrick Rose

2007:

Portland Trail Blazers |

5.30%

| Greg Oden

2006:

Toronto Raptors |

8.80%

| Andrea Bargnani

2005:

Milwaukee Bucks |

6.30%

| Andrew Bogut

2004:

| Dwight Howard

2003:

22.50%

| LeBron James

2002:

Houston Rockets |

8.90%

| Yao Ming

2001:

15.70%

| Kwame Brown

2000:

New Jersey Nets |

4.40%

| Kenyon Martin

1999:

| Elton Brand

1998:

22.56%

| Michael Olowokandi

1997:

21.60%

| Tim Duncan

1996:

33.73%

| Allen Iverson

1995:

Golden State Warriors |

9.40%

| Joe Smith

1994:

16.30%

| Glenn Robinson

1993:

1.52%

| Chris Webber

1992:

15.15%

| Shaquille O’Neal

1991:

Charlotte Hornets |

10.61%

| Larry Johnson

1990:

16.67%

| Derrick Coleman

1989:

Sacramento Kings |

11.11%

| Pervis Ellison

1988:

14.29%

| Danny Manning

1987:

| David Robinson

1986:

| Brad Daugherty

1985:

New York Knicks |

| Patrick Ewing