The Brooklyn Nets are currently in the early stages of their rebuild as they’re hoping to get back to competing for a playoff spot sooner rather than later after what has happened over the past few years. Brooklyn drew some bad luck in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery when they fell to the No. 6 pick, but it looks like they’ll have to make the most of that selection.

“The NBA Board of Governors today approved a new NBA Draft Lottery system designed to eliminate incentives for teams to prioritize their position in the Draft over winning games,” the NBA said in a statement about the league’s Board of Governors approving the new “3-2-1” format. While the approval of the measure has been expected for some time now, the Nets will have to worry about this in the near future.

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“The “3-2-1 Lottery” expands the lottery from 14 to 16 teams and flattens odds among teams that do not qualify for the NBA Playoffs or NBA Play-In Tournament. The new system will take effect beginning with the 2027 NBA Draft,” the NBA continued in the statement. As part of the NBA’s release, the main portions of the new anti-tanking measure were explained for all fans to see.

To recap, the new rule will begin with the 2027 NBA Draft and essentially flattens the odds to the point that the worst teams in the league will have the same chance of getting the No. 1 overall pick as teams that were in the play-in tournament. The three worst teams will each have a 5.4% chance of getting the No. 1 pick while the seven other non-play-in teams (i.e. the relegation zone) each have a 8.1% chance of getting the same result.

The Nets already have their pick for the 2026 NBA Draft in June and they owe their 2027 first-round pick to the Houston Rockets, but this new era of the Lottery will affect them soon enough. Brooklyn will have their own first-round pick in the 2028 NBA Draft and if they are still rebuilding by then, they will have to worry about being bad enough, but not being among the worst if the draft is going to work in their favor.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: NBA approves “3-2-1” Lottery that could affect Nets rebuild in 2028