COMON Network

By Ed DiOrio, Guest Column

The NBA and NHL have draft lotteries, but is there a better way to determine who gets those picks?

The battle for the NBA’s most coveted prize started just over a week ago and had the sports world buzzing. 

But, the in-between-the-lines question in that statement could be “what’s the NBA’s second-most coveted prize?” If you ask a good amount of fans, including myself, they’d probably say it’s the number one overall pick in the draft. 

So how is this prize given? Ask Harvey Dent. Chance. 

The draft lottery can be a good thing. I actually enjoy the idea of using it to determine picks 4-13. However, picks one through three should be decided the same way the title is.

Eight is a good number for a lot of things. It’s good for beers in one sitting, fries on a sandwich, and average amount of jagoffs at a Stiller tailgate. 

Although, eight is used best for teams in a tournament. 

Eight teams are currently sitting on their couches when they should be in a second bubble city duking it out for the rights to the number one selection. The teams that finish first, second, and third get those picks in the draft. This takes away tanking. If teams have something to play for all season, that just makes the league more competitive and fun. 

The seeding would be decided by regular season records. For example, if you went off this season, the Charlotte Hornets would be the number one seed with the best record of the eight. A five-game series in the first round, followed by the classic seven-game set the rest of the way. The two losers in the semifinals play one game for the third overall pick. Then, the rest are decided through the lottery, with the fourth-place team getting the best odds. 

Sure, some teams will still be better than others, but parody amongst the bad teams would make for a fun ride that fans can get behind. More TV money, more exposure for talents such as Trae Young, and Chazz gets a chance to watch his Warriors. 

Is this idea fairly similar to the “Road to the #1 Pick” feature in 2K? Yes. 

BUT WHO CARES? 

It’s a good idea. The NBA would only grow and allow all fan bases to follow their teams all throughout the year.