Would a points system improve the draft lottery?
It's hard to find the right balance with the draft lottery, where bad teams should be rewarded with higher draft picks, but tanking shouldn't be encouraged.
With a points system, it tries to reward teams that are competitive against stronger teams during the regular season.
How Lottery Points are calculated:
Qualifying Wins:
A qualifying win is any win where the opponent's final regular season win count is greater than the team's own final regular season win count.
Points:
For each qualifying win, the opponent's final regular season win count is added to a running tally. This tally is then divided by the team's own final regular season win count, to normalise the number.
Examples (with original teams):
2026 Draft Order with this metric:
2025 Draft Order with this metric:
The intention of calculating points using the final regular season win count is to discourage teams from manipulating the system during the season, as they won't be 100% certain how many wins the opponent and themselves would end up with.