Why does the NBA have a draft lottery?

[bort411]

And why aren't all teams included in it? It just seems like the stupidest idea ever.

[Malachii]

So the Lakers can get the #1 pick! Ewing style, baby!

PS: Wrong forum.

[Koss]

In the NBA the addition of one great player is enough to turn a franchise completely around, more so than any other sport. The lottery system keeps teams from intentionally tanking their season just so they can get the #1 pick. Can you imagine what would've happened 2 years ago when LeBron James entered the draft? I think you would've had some 0-82 teams that year. They only let the top 13 teams in so that a top tier team doesn't get a lucky lottery pick and end up with a college superstar on their already solid team.

[jakethebake]

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And why aren't all teams included in it? It just seems like the stupidest idea ever.

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Probably for the same reason your posted this in the Books forum.

[jojobinks]

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And why aren't all teams included in it? It just seems like the stupidest idea ever.

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Probably for the same reason your posted this in the Books forum.

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ouch

[Fletch101]

Bingo. It's to prevent deliberate losing in order to obtain highest possible pick. If you're down to the last few games of the year, and your franchise is on the cusp of moving up a pick in a non-lottery system(by losing and therefore finishing with a worse record than nearby teams, it would be too tempting to exploit this.
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In the NBA the addition of one great player is enough to turn a franchise completely around, more so than any other sport. The lottery system keeps teams from intentionally tanking their season just so they can get the #1 pick. Can you imagine what would've happened 2 years ago when LeBron James entered the draft? I think you would've had some 0-82 teams that year. They only let the top 13 teams in so that a top tier team doesn't get a lucky lottery pick and end up with a college superstar on their already solid team.

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[PartySNGer]

Easy, so the big market teams can get "lucky" in the lottery and get the top picks. Historically, look at the teams who luck out and move way up thanks to the lottery: Orlando and San Antonio are the most obvious. As a Grizzlies and Jazz fan, I can't think of one year the lottery actually helped either of these teams, they both usually get screwed by 2-4 spots.

[RowdyZ]

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Easy, so the big market teams can get "lucky" in the lottery and get the top picks. Historically, look at the teams who luck out and move way up thanks to the lottery: Orlando and San Antonio are the most obvious. As a Grizzlies and Jazz fan, I can't think of one year the lottery actually helped either of these teams, they both usually get screwed by 2-4 spots.

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Big Markets and you use the Magic and the Spurs as examples?
According to DMA size.
20 Orlando-Daytona Bch-Melbrn 1,303,150
36 Salt Lake City 800,000
37 San Antonio 748,950
44 Memphis 658,250
Kinda blows your theory out of water.

The lottery is at least weighted now so the teams with the worse records have more chances.

[DeuceKicker]

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Easy, so the big market teams can get "lucky" in the lottery and get the top picks. Historically, look at the teams who luck out and move way up thanks to the lottery: Orlando and San Antonio are the most obvious. As a Grizzlies and Jazz fan, I can't think of one year the lottery actually helped either of these teams, they both usually get screwed by 2-4 spots.

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You're being results oriented.

I remember before they had a draft lottery. There were at least one or two teams every year that were OBVIOUSLY tanking games to get a higher pick. This ends up affecting things like home-court advantage for the current year's playoffs if one team in contention plays a couple teams that are laying down.

[coyote]

13 teams are in the lottery, because all teams that miss the playoffs that year are included in the lottery.

Also, as someone else said, San Antonio and Orlando are bad choices to set out as big market teams.