Out with the coin flip, in with the lottery for NBA draft descisions

June 28, 1984

SALT LAKE CITY -- The National Basketball Association is retiring the 100-year-old silver dollar it has using to determine which team gets the No.1 pick in its college player draft.

The coin flip is being replaced by a seven-team lottery.

The Switch, approved by the league Tuesday, is aimed at creating more interest and avoiding potential embarrassment.

Commissioner David Stern made the announcement at the conclusion of summer meeting by the Board of Governors, at which the league’s only legislative body also adopted several rule changes and endorsed with the NBA’s position in its dispute with the San Diego Los Angeles Clippers.

The alteration of the draft structure came as a surprise because the NBA’s Competition and Rules Committee, composed of coaches and general managers, had not made a firm recommendation.

Under the new system, the seven clubs that do not make the 16-team playoffs will have their names drawn in a lottery to decide their position for the June draft. The playoff clubs will continue to draft in inverse order of their records, with the team with the worst mark picking eighth.

Stern and other league officials feel the new rule will prevent the possibility of a non-playoff team deliberately losing games to improve its drafting position.

Since 1966, the two clubs in the eastern and western conferences with the worst records participated in a coin toss to determine which would receive the top pick. Before then, the team with the poorest record automatically got the first choice.

Source: Associated Press,