Fansided · Apr 25, 2017
Phoenix Suns Lottery History
In 1985, NBA Commissioner David Stern instituted the Draft Lottery, a system that was intended to help stop tanking (a problem that was both rampant and far worse than what the Suns and Lakers did this year) by giving all teams not in that year’s playoffs an equal chance at the number one overall selection.
Originally started as individual envelopes stuffed with cards with the logo of each non-playoff team that was shuffled around in a bingo ball spinner, the system has since gone through multiple variations as it has been refined and made more ‘fair’ to the league’s worst teams.