The NBA’s new lottery setup is already changing the way teams have to think about the bottom of the standings, but for the Spurs, the bigger shift may come on the other end of the schedule.
The league’s 3-2-1 lottery is in place this season, with the 2027 draft set to be the first to operate under the new rules. The Board of Governors approved the system 29-1 back in May, and the format now stretches the lottery from 14 teams to 16.
Under the new setup, the three worst records are pushed into what the NBA is calling the relegation zone, where the chance at the No. 1 pick drops to 5.4% from the old 14%. Adam Silver also has the power to fine a team as much as $10 million or strip draft picks if he believes a club is losing on purpose.
That’s the kind of change most teams will view through a draft lens, especially as franchises try to build rosters strong enough to keep up with San Antonio and OKC’s loaded groups. For the Spurs, though, this is less about lottery math and more about what the regular season looks like night after night.
The real message from the league is clear: tanking is an organizational problem. No penalties were discussed for individual players, only for teams.
And that fits the way the league actually works. The guys on the floor are usually competing hard, and plenty of them are also fighting for contracts or future roles.
It’s the front office that creates the conditions for losing, whether that means bad roster construction, minute restrictions, or carefully managed rest days.
That’s exactly what the new discipline targets. Fines, lost picks, a changed draft position, altered lottery odds - every one of those punishments hits the people upstairs, not the players on the court.
If the league follows through on that approach, the ripple effect should show up in the standings. Teams will have to put better lineups on the floor more consistently, and that means opponents will face more competitive games across the board. Nights that used to feel like easy wins should get a lot less comfortable.
For San Antonio, that matters. The Spurs went 62-20 on their way to the Finals last season, and a big part of any 60-win run is taking care of teams that had already checked out.
That edge may not be as available now. A Tuesday in Memphis and a back-to-back in Charlotte look different when everyone is more invested and more intact.
In other words, the Spurs’ youth advantage in the West just got a little more valuable, while the rest of the 82-game grind got harder for everyone else.
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What stood out beyond the scoreboard was the way the Spurs controlled the game physically and from the perimeter, out-rebounding the Kings 63-38 and knocking down 17 three-pointers on 51 attempts. For a team trying to build identity around youth, size and spacing, that kind of preseason showing gives fans a little more reason to lean in when the games start to count. [Read more 🡒]