The Golden State Warriors could become quiet winners from historic NBA draft lottery reform that's now set to come in after it was passed by the Board of Governors on Thursday.
The middle ground around the Play-In Tournament has been the no-man's land of the league previously, yet it's where the Warriors have found themselves multiple times in recent seasons. However, in an attempt to curb tanking around the league, the NBA is now giving those middling teams a far better chance when it comes to the draft lottery.
Warriors could quietly benefit from historic draft lottery reform
Some are already viewing Golden State as a likely loser from the changes, owing to the potential of falling into a rebuild post Stephen Curry. This is true to some degree -- the NBA is now prohibiting teams from landing the first overall pick in consecutive years, or a top five pick in three-straight years. That would, in theory, make it far more difficult for the Warriors to build another championship core after Curry retires.
This could also make Golden State's future picks less valuable in a trade. If the Warriors wanted to fork out all their assets on a major win-now move, the trade partner would be hoping that would result in three or more top five selections in the future.
Breaking: The NBA's Board of Governors has passed new anti-tanking rules that include expanding the draft lottery from 14 to 16 teams, a relegation zone where the bottom 3 teams get penalized with lessened chances for the No. 1 pick, and flattened odds, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/e1oq10p2yV
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 28, 2026
Yet there's also the argument that Golden State could easily become winners of this reform, and that their future draft capital should actually been seen as more valuable going forward. Sam Quinn of CBS Sports didn't mention the Warriors as a winner or a loser in the immediate aftermath of this reform, but he did recognize the Miami Heat as a winner due to Pat Riley's stance against tanking.
Golden State could be also be considered one of the strongest anti-tanking teams in recent years, especially after this past season where Curry missed 27-straight games due to a knee injury, yet fought his way back to return late and in time for the Play-In.
Warriors could now benefit from underwhelming position
The Warriors will want to remain competitive every season while Curry remains, which based on his still very high level could be a number of years. The issue is their path to surging back up the Western Conference standings isn't immediately clear, and the reality is they've now been part of the Play-In Tournament in four of the past six seasons.
While this is not the spot you want to be, it's one Golden State could very well still find themselves in going forward. Fortunately though, finishing in such a position now gives teams a stronger chance of landing a top selection and a franchise-altering talent that could push them back up the standings.
The Warriors had a 2% chance of acquiring the first overall pick at this month's lottery, but based on the new reform they'd have a 5.4% chance in the same position next year. If rival teams see Golden State as a team likely to remain around the fringes of the playoffs, that should actually make their future picks more valuable from a trade sense.
Fans won't want to see the Warriors go through the Play-In or narrowly miss out on the playoffs again, but at least now that outcome isn't as dire as what it's been in previous years.
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