Highlights
- The NBA's board of governors voted Thursday to expand the draft lottery from 14 to 16 teams and add anti-tanking measures.
- Phoenix is working out Ryan Conwell, a Louisville guard who averaged 18.7 points and is projected as a top-40 pick.
- First-year Suns coach Jordan Ott finished fifth in NBA Coach of the Year voting after a debut season that included a Grayson Allen franchise record of 10 three-pointers in a single game.
- The lottery expansion means more teams compete for top picks, reducing the incentive to lose intentionally late in a season.
The NBA's board of governors voted Thursday to expand the draft lottery from 14 to 16 teams and adopt anti-tanking measures, ESPN reported, a structural shift that arrives as the Phoenix Suns are deep into pre-draft workouts.
The vote was described as overwhelming, according to ESPN. The expanded lottery format adds two teams to the pool of franchises eligible for top picks, which distributes lottery odds more broadly and reduces the mathematical payoff of losing games intentionally at the end of a season.
The timing matters for Phoenix. The Suns are currently working out Ryan Conwell, a Louisville guard who averaged 18.7 points per game and is projected as a top-40 pick, according to Bleacher Report. Florida State guard pre-draft workouts are also scheduled with the team.
First-year head coach Jordan Ott finished fifth in NBA Coach of the Year voting in his debut season, per Bleacher Report. Grayson Allen set a franchise record with 10 three-pointers in a single game this season and averaged career-highs of 16.5 points and 3.8 assists.
The league has not announced an effective date for the new lottery format. The 2026 NBA Draft is the next scheduled event on the league calendar where the changes could apply.
Sources
Every factual claim in this article traces to one of the sources below. See how we work for the editorial process.
- espn.com retrieved 28/05/2026 21:06
- bleacherreport.com retrieved 28/05/2026 21:06
Authored by The Scottsdale Signal. Drafted by AI from primary-source material under our beat-specific editorial guides; reviewed by humans before publish under our five-gate process. Sources retrieved at 28/05/2026 21:06. Every claim traces to a source.
