The NBA made a drastic move on May 28, approving a new draft lottery system that will take effect beginning next season.

According to ESPN, the league’s Board of Governors approved the changes by a 29-1 vote. The lone vote against the proposal came from the Memphis Grizzlies.

Among the most notable changes:

The draft lottery will expand from 14 to 16 teams.

Teams with the fourth- through 10th-worst records will each have an 8.1% chance at the No. 1 overall pick.

The bottom three teams will have equal odds at the top pick but can fall no lower than No. 12.

Teams cannot win the No. 1 overall pick in consecutive years.

Teams cannot receive top-five picks in three consecutive drafts.

The first 16 picks of the second round will be determined by the inverse order of the first round.

The NBA will have expanded authority to reduce lottery odds, modify draft positions and impose significant fines on teams found to be tanking.

Memphis may have had more reason than any other franchise to oppose the changes.

The Grizzlies own the most favorable 2027 first-round pick among the Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Utah Jazz. Under the NBA’s new rules, the Jazz cannot receive a top-five pick in 2027 after landing top-five selections in each of the previous two drafts.

As a result, the highest the Jazz pick can land is No. 6.

That limits the upside of one of Memphis’ most valuable future draft assets and could partially explain why the Grizzlies stood alone in voting against the proposal.

While the reform is designed to further discourage tanking and flatten lottery odds across the league, Memphis appears to be the franchise most directly affected by one of its unintended consequences.

Evan Wasch, NBA executive vice president, head of basketball strategy and growth, explained how the restrictions with the Utah pick travels to the acquiring team in the new system. The league didn’t want to create an imbalance in value on traded and non-traded picks.

“If you were to grandfather in already traded picks, it essentially becomes a windfall for the teams that own those picks,” Wasch said. “Unlike other picks, they will be subject to potential benefit or upside of the restrictions, but none of the downside.”

Inside the process of the new NBA lottery

League officials prioritized communicating the proposed changes to teams before the May 10 draft lottery, understanding that at least one franchise could be negatively impacted by the new restrictions.

“The agreement was essentially we’re going to have to live with the benefits and drawbacks of this system in order to have this restriction, which the board felt was important to solve the multi-year tanking issues and the need to distribute talent in a more equitable way across the league,” Wasch said.

According to NBA president of league operations Byron Spruell, Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman and team president Jason Wexler were both heavily involved in the process. Kleiman played an active role in the league’s general manager committee discussions, while Wexler participated in Board of Governors meetings, where Memphis ultimately became the lone organization to vote against the proposal.

The timing creates an unfortunate consequence for the Grizzlies. The NBA prioritized urgently reforming the lottery system following a season in which multiple teams were fined amid concerns about tanking and competitive integrity.

“This was not, from our perspective, a view targeted at Memphis,” Wasch said. “This was a view of applying this rule in a fair and consistent way, and understanding that it was bound to impact teams positively or negatively based on lottery drawings.”

For now, Memphis’ future draft outlook remains strong, but one of its most valuable assets no longer carries the possibility of turning into a top-five selection.

Damichael Cole is the Memphis Grizzlies beat writer for The Commercial Appeal. Contact Damichael at damichael.cole@commercialappeal.com. Follow Damichael on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DamichaelC.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: NBA draft lottery is changing, why Grizzlies were dissenting vote