The Memphis Grizzlies were the only team to vote against the NBA’s new draft lottery system because one rule could directly reduce the value of a future pick they own.
The reform passed almost unanimously, but Memphis had a specific reason to object. This was not just about tanking philosophy or competitive balance.
The Grizzlies’ issue centered on how the new top-five restriction applies to future picks tied to the Utah Jazz.
Memphis Grizzlies stand alone as NBA passes new anti-tanking lottery system
In a recent Shams Charania post, the NBA’s new anti-tanking reform was laid out after the Board of Governors vote.
“The NBA’s Board of Governors has passed new anti-tanking rules that include expanding the draft lottery from 14 to 16 teams, a relegation zone where the bottom 3 teams get penalized with lessened chances for the No. 1 pick, and flattened odds,” Charania revealed.
The vote was 29-1, with the Grizzlies standing as the only team against the change. The new system is expected to begin with the 2027 draft lottery and is designed to make losing less rewarding.
It expands the lottery field, flattens the odds and lowers the incentive for the league’s worst teams to chase the No. 1 pick. That makes sense from the NBA’s point of view, but Memphis had a direct asset-management reason to push back.
Memphis Grizzlies voted no because Utah Jazz pick rule could block top-five upside
In a follow-up Shams Charania tweet, the reason for Memphis’ lone dissent became clearer.
“The Grizzlies voted against the new lottery reform solely because of the new rule disallowing a team from picking top 5 in 3 consecutive years,” Charania stated.
“The Grizzlies have the more favorable 2027 first-rounder of Cleveland, Minnesota, and Utah, and because the Jazz again have a top-5 pick this year, their first in 2027 cannot be in the top-5 under new rules,” he concluded.
That is why this mattered so much to Memphis. The Grizzlies own the most favorable 2027 first-round pick among Cleveland, Minnesota and Utah, but Utah’s recent top-five history now limits how valuable that path can become.
If the Jazz would have been bad enough to land another top-five pick in 2027, the new rule can stop that outcome. That means Memphis loses the kind of high-end lottery upside it likely believed it had when evaluating that asset.
For the league, the rule is about stopping teams from living at the top of the draft. For the Grizzlies, it changed the future value of a pick already sitting on their books. That is why 29 teams could support the reform while Memphis had every reason to be the lone holdout.
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