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NBA board approves lottery reform for 2019 draft

Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports / Action Images

The NBA's proposal for draft-lottery reform has been approved by the league's Board of Governors, it was announced Thursday.

The new rules will come into effect prior to the 2019 NBA Draft.

The changes disincentivize tanking across the league by balancing the lottery odds for the 14 non-playoff teams.

As part of the proposal, the bottom three teams will have an equal shot of winning the lottery, with a 14-percent chance.

Lottery rank Previous odds at No. 1 New odds at No. 1
1 25 14
2 19.9 14
3 15.6 14
4 11.9 12.5
5 8.8 10.5
6 6.3 9
7 4.3 7.5
8 2.8 6
9 1.7 4.5
10 1.1 3
11 0.8 2
12 0.7 1.5
13 0.6 1
14 0.5 0.5

Teams in the 4-13 range will now have better odds of getting the No. 1 pick, while the 14th-placed team will continue to have just a 0.5 percent shot of winning the lottery.

The reform bill passed 28-1-1, with the Oklahoma City Thunder voting "no" and the Dallas Mavericks abstaining, according to ESPN'S Adrian Wojnarowski.

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