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On this date in 1970, Jerry West hit a famous 60-foot buzzer-beater in Game 3 of the NBA Finals. After Dave DeBusschere put the Knicks up by two, West was forced to heave it from beyond half court. It did not result in a win because the NBA didn’t have the 3-point shot yet, and the Lakers lost in overtime. The Knicks won the title in seven games.
Lotto confusion
NBA’s new proposal is overly complicated
“If it ain’t broke, don’t break it.” — Charles Oakley.
That’s one of my favorite quotes in history. And it’s how I feel about the NBA’s latest lottery and anti-tanking reform proposal that surfaced on Tuesday. When some of the league’s proposed ideas leaked a month ago, the one that made the most sense was flattening the odds for the teams with the 10 worst records (each getting an 8 percent chance at the No. 1 pick). Then teams 11-18 (the four losers of the Play-In Tournament included) would all receive 2.5 percent odds. We graded it a 9/10.
So what did the NBA apparently choose? Turning the entire process into one big tax law that is unnecessarily complicated. The league wants to introduce the “3-2-1” system — because everything needs a clever little name. Instead of just making the simple and effective fix, the NBA would dole out different odds throughout the bottom 16 teams, expanding the lottery from 14. And the bottom three teams wouldn’t get the best odds.
I made a little chart to explain some of it. But I can’t explain all of it on one chart, because there’s so much more to it. Teams would get an 8.1, 5.4 or 2.7 percent chance of winning the draft lottery. They would get one, two or three lottery balls based on their finish.
You got all that? It’s not over! There are also extra proposed rulesdesigned to reduce tanking. My assessment is in bold.
No team could win the top pick in consecutive years or win three consecutive top-five picks. In the lottery era, a team has had consecutive years with a top pick twice, once by trade.
Teams could not protect picks in slots 12 to 15. This would affect almost nothing.
The proposal includes a sunset provision, in which the new system would expire following the 2029 draft and would require a vote by the Board of Governors to continue it. So it’s an experiment for now. Maybe this includes potential expansion tweaks?
The league would have expanded disciplinary authority to regulate tanking by having the option to reduce teams’ lottery odds and/or modify teams’ draft positions. This could have huge ramifications.
All these rules remind me of Mad magazine #295, which was its “Back to the Future 2” edition. Mad made fun of how convoluted the time travel and patterns were in the movie and had John Madden explain what was happening.
This plan is not as good as the one we judged a month ago. It’s just overly and unnecessarily complicated simply so the league could name it the 3-2-1 system, which reminds me of “Family Matters” and a wrestler from the 1990s. The Board of Governors will vote on this May 28 for the 2026-27 season. Tweaks could still be made, so call your local representative ticket rep.
The last 24
🏀 Mock SZN. Sam Vecenie has his latest mock draft, based on a random lottery draw of his own. Jazz fans will love this.
🏀 Rock chalk. Speaking of drafts, the potential No. 1 pick in 2027 — and the top incoming freshman in college basketball — picked his school on Tuesday. Tyran Stokes is headed to Kansas.
🧑⚖️ What’s next? Damon Jones pleaded guilty to two felonies in federal court. He’s the first among 34 defendants in the NBAgambling and poker game ring cases to plead to a deal.
🔊 NBA Daily. Watch and listen to a recap of last night’s games. Including the 76ers’ shocker.
Stream the NBA on Fubo (try it for free!) and catch out-of-market games on League Pass.
Mythic quote
Did T-Mac actually say that in 2003 playoffs?
When the No. 8 seed Orlando Magic were up 3-1 on the No. 1 seed Detroit Pistons in the first round of the 2003 playoffs, Tracy McGrady allegedly said, “It feels good to get into the second round.” For over two decades, this quote has been accepted as fact and recycled about the first of many Doc Rivers teams collapsing with a 3-1 series lead.
Except … T-Mac didn’t actually say that?
When the quote came up Monday after this year’s eighth-seeded Magic went up 3-1 on the No. 1 seed Pistons, McGrady addressed it on the NBC postgame show.
“Somebody didn’t really do their homework. (They) can’t find a video of me saying that. It’s a myth.”
Wait, we’ve all been running with this T-Mac quote forever. And, to be fair, I can’t find an interview or clip of this presumed statement after Game 4 in 2003. In a Reddit post from three years ago, there’s a theory about this alleged quote. Then-Pistons guard Jon Barry was the first one to spread it around. This is from the Houston Chronicle in 2005:
Barry was with Detroit at the time and said McGrady’s words were quickly passed around the Pistons’ locker room.
“(Orlando) got up 3-1, and he said, ‘It feels good to get in the second round,’” Barry said. “And it was a seven-game series. They proceeded to lose by 20 in the last three games, and we moved on. He’s heard about it from me a few times.”
The Pistons thought he said it, and that gave them motivation to make T-Mac eat his seemingly fake words. McGrady was quoted in a newspaper clipping saying that to “… possibly get to the second round would be so great.” He’s been misquoted for 23 years?
However, going through the comments of that Reddit thread, it’s time to bust out the Columbo “Oh, just one more thing.” McGrady might have said it, via the East Lansing Journal! How many quotes did T-Mac have about this Game 4 victory? Why don’t we have video? I’m more confused than when I started this section.
About last night
Knicks avert crisis, while Spurs advance
Let’s review last night’s Game 5s …
Knicks 126, Hawks 97: Knicks lead 3-2
Read the takeaways from The Athletic. Here are mine.
Paint dominance. The Knicks had 60 points in the paint and 20 second-chance points. The Hawks had just 42 paint points.
KAT’s meow. Karl-Anthony Towns had another brilliant game: 16 points on 5-of-7 shooting, 14 rebounds, six assists, two steals and two blocks.
Fast-break points. The Hawks had just four in this game. That’s 32 fast-break points in three losses, and 40 in two wins.
Who played huge in this game? Jalen Brunson. He had 17 of his 39 points in the fourth quarter to pull the Knicks away from the Hawks. He was 15-of-23 for the game.
Who came up short for the Hawks? CJ McCollum — just six points on 3-of-10 shooting with four turnovers. That is not answering the bell, as he did in Games 2 and 3.
How concerned should the Hawks be? Extremely. The Knicks dominated the last two games.
PPM: 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 for Atlanta | 🚨🚨🚨 for New York
76ers 113, Celtics 97: Celtics lead 3-2
Read the takeaways from The Athletic. Here are mine.
Tyrese Maxey got going again. The Sixers bringing Joel Embiid back in Game 4 seemed to take away from Maxey’s offense. He had 25 points on 10-of-18 shooting in Game 5.
Horrific Celtics shooting. They were just 11-of-39 from deep and 14-of-23 from the free-throw line. Very un-Celtics-like.
Quentin Grimes was fantastic. His 18 points off the bench and defense on Jaylen Brown were huge.
Who played huge in this game? Embiid. He didn’t just get 33 points on 12-of-23 from the field and 9-of-10 from the line. He also had eight assists as the Sixers thrived off his presence.
Who came up short for the Celtics? Derrick White. It was really everybody for the Celtics’ role players, but White’s six points on 2-of-8 shooting was abysmal.
How concerned should the Celtics be? A little. They’re still the better team and have Game 7 at home, if needed. But they need to shoot really well to end this series.
PPM: 🚨🚨🚨🚨🚨 for Philadelphia | 🚨🚨🚨 for Boston
Spurs 114, Blazers 95: Spurs win series 4-1 👽
Was this the expected outcome? Overall, yes. The Spurs were expected to win in about five games. Maybe six, once Victor Wembanyama had the concussion issue?
What’s next for the Spurs? They await the winner of Minnesota and Denver. The Wolves lead that series 3-2 (see below).
Who are the Blazers’ big free agents? Robert Williams III, Matisse Thybulle and Blake Wesley.
What’s the draft situation? Portland’s pick (15th) goes to Chicago. Its second-rounder (42nd) goes to San Antonio.
What’s the pressing need for Portland? Outside shooting. This team took a lot of 3s and didn’t make them. How much will Damian Lillard’s return fix that? Will the Blazers get involved in a Giannis trade or go after their own star? Who’s going to be their coach?
Overall grade for the Blazers’ season: B+
Since we’re here, let’s do a quick preview of tonight’s Game 5s. All times Eastern.
Magic at Pistons, 7 p.m. (Prime Video) | Magic lead 3-1
Something to look for: Will Jalen Duren help extend the Pistons’ season? He’s been non-existent in this series.
Raptors at Cavs, 7:30 p.m. (ESPN) | Series tied 2-2
Something to look for: Is this just one of those series in which the home team seems to dominate every game, and it just goes back-and-forth without any real tension until Game 7?
Rockets at Lakers, 10 p.m. (ESPN) | Lakers lead 3-1
Something to look for: Once again, no Kevin Durant in this one. Can the Rockets force turnovers like they did in Game 4 to extend their season?