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Good morning to all, especially our moms in Pittsburgh and Utah. Inside:
- ⬇️ The NBA’s shadiest tanker
- 🥎 A new home run queen
- 🌀 Canes sweep again
NBA: The last lottery of its kind
The NBA Draft Lottery is at 3 p.m. ET on ABC. There will never be another like it.
This season’s tanking was so egregious, and fan and media complaints about it were so loud, that the NBA is doing something about it. That the league will make some sort of reform to the lottery for 2027 appears certain. What that will be is less obvious, but the league seems to be moving toward a “3-2-1” system that awards varying numbers of lottery balls to teams that lose Play-In games (one ball), finish ninth or 10th in their conference (two), finish with the fourth- to 10th-worst record (three!) or finish bottom-three (just two, as an anti-tank incentive).
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Smart people can (and already do) disagree about this specific fix. Zach Harper thinks the NBA’s proposal is overly convoluted. John Hollinger thinks it’s generally great and is “sooooo excited to look at the schedule on a random night in March and not write off half the games as a charade with a predetermined outcome.”
Your mileage may vary here. But wherever the NBA settles, the current lottery setup is not long for this world. Today should be the last day of the bottom three teams (or their trade partners) sharing a 14 percent chance at the top pick, with 11 more teams getting progressively smaller chances at it. The teams with the best shot at taking advantage of the last lottery of the old world are the Wizards, Pacers and Nets, followed by the Jazz and Kings in the 11.5 percent bracket. Of course, a handful of teams have won the lottery with low-single-digit odds.
This lottery feels extremely sleazy because of the well-documented tankathon that has caused all this consternation in the first place. But not all prospective No. 1 pickers are created equal, so I asked Hollinger to weigh all of the candidates on the scales of justice. Who would be the least honorable recipient? And who really deserves a break?
First, the worst:
💬 In a crowded competition for the least honorable team to win this lottery, we’ll have to go with the Grizzlies, who went a quasi-respectable 20-33 with a -2.3 net rating before the All-Star break … and 5-24 with a -12.8 rating afterward. What’s amazing is how the Grizzlies continued to ratchet up their awfulness as their lottery odds improved; in their final 13 games, they lost by double digits twelve times, including a 46-point defeat to a Utah team that was itself tanking and basically starting random strangers off the street.
Totally unethical. Meanwhile …
💬 The most honorable team to win obviously would be Indiana, whose year-end tanking was just as brazen as anyone else’s (anybody seen Ivica Zubac?) but who rebuilt itself into an NBA Finals team without tanking at all before injuries to Tyrese Haliburton and other maladies sent them to the 2026 lottery.
Who will the winner take at No. 1? BYU wing AJ Dybantsa is the mock draft favorite right now, but it’s Duke forward Cameron Boozer who leads Hollinger’s top-15 ranking. We’ll see.
News to Know
Grant makes softball history
Last week, we told you how softball’s 31-year-old single-season home run record was about to fall, with Oklahoma freshman phenom Kendall Wells poised to break it. Turns out we were half right: Wells went five games without a homer and UCLA senior Megan Grant became the player to finally surpass former Arizona star Laura Espinoza, blasting this no-doubter yesterday for No. 38. Grant was a reserve on the Bruins’ championship-winning basketball team and is a cool story in her own right — Molly Keshin has more on “Chef Megan.”
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Canes start these playoffs 8-0
This is proving to be a restful postseason for Carolina — in a good way. After Jackson Blake’s overtime winner against the Flyers sealed a second straight series sweep, it could be May 18 before they learn their Eastern Finals opponent (if Buffalo-Montreal goes seven, which feels possible). Fourth trip to the conference finals since 2019; a win would be their first in that span.
- In other playoff action yesterday, the Thunder are verging on a back-to-back sweep of their own as the Lakers hit panic mode. It seemed like it might be heading that way in Detroit-Cleveland, too, but James Harden redeemed himself with a big fourth quarter and the Cavs pulled a game back. Likewise the Wild awoke in Game 3 against the Avs.
More News
- One of baseball’s greatest and most beloved managers, Bobby Cox died at 84. Make time for the colorful and touching memories shared in this obit.
- So much for what looked and sounded like goodbye: Steve Kerr has agreed to two more years with the Warriors. Full story here.
- In a Finals rematch, the visiting Mercury crushed the Aces, 99-66. Not how you want your ring day to go.
- Caitlin Clark also made her return after missing most of last season to injury, rimming out a late game-tying 3-pointer in a barn-burner between the Fever and Wings.
- The Guardians acquired Gold Glove catcher Patrick Bailey from the Giants in a rare May trade. We’ve got analysis for both Cleveland and San Francisco.
- Minnesota United’s James Rodríguez era is set to end after the Colombian star made four MLS appearances, one start.
- President Trump’s plan for a “championship-level” D.C. public golf course took a step forward amid legal battles. More here.
Clouded judgment
Robbed by the fog?
Vanderbilt hit what possibly should’ve been a go-ahead home run in the top of the ninth against Missouri late Friday, but Braden Holcomb’s shot got lost in heavy fog and was ultimately ruled a ground-rule double. The game was suspended and the Commodores — in jeopardy of missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time in two decades — lost 8-7 when it resumed yesterday. Full story here.
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Watch Guide
📺 EPL: West Ham vs. Arsenal
11:30 a.m. ET on USA
Seven of the 20 Premier League teams are in London. That’s meant a string of emotional derbies for Arsenal as they chase the title. Another against Crystal Palace still looms.
📺 NBA: Knicks at 76ers, Game 4
3:30 p.m. ET on ABC
New York can sweep its way into the Eastern Conference Finals. Either way, this series has reached “matter of time” territory.
📺 NHL: Sabres at Canadiens, Game 3
7 p.m. ET on ESPN
Montreal put a 5-1 beating on the Sabres at home in Game 2 to even the series. This series is becoming a depth and goaltending test; neither team has a player in the top 11 in playoff scoring.
Get tickets to games like this here.
Pulse Picks
Most-shared by Athletic readers last week:
- Kobe Bryant used to meditate for at least 15 minutes every day. I tried it for a week
- Is Padres closer Mason Miller the most unhittable pitcher who ever lived?
- Sabres fans stepped in to save “O Canada,” raising the bar on what anthems are about
- John Sterling, legendary Yankees broadcaster, dies at age 87
- A hot dog is selling for $100 at the Miami Grand Prix. But what does it taste like?
💡 Tip: Subscribers can share articles with anyone to read for free.
My pick is a New Orleans flex. Sometimes this city can make everyday life a struggle, but then you get to drive 2 miles and attend Jazz Fest, which attracts people from all over the world. If you ever get a chance to come, do it. And have a mango freeze with me. — Chris Branch
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From Jayson Stark’s latest Weird & Wild: Don Mattingly is one of only five men in history who have won both an MVP award and a Manager of the Year award. Can you name the other four? Answers here.
The many flaws of FIFA’s $375 World Cup host city jerseys, as explained by Brooks Peck.
Microwave nachos, basically, but specifically Trader Joe’s shredded Unexpected Cheddar on Lay’s. And pile it on. — Matt Piper
Worth revisiting from earlier this week: In an era of fanflation, is the NWSL the best value in sports?
Thank you to our Dan Shanoff for reminding me to switch my YouTube TV to the cheaper Sports Plan. — Jason Kirk
If you want a quick read on why the “AI is bleeping scary” reality is reaching D.C., start here. More? Yes, that’s Mythos, busting out of a digital sandbox and emailing its “master” bragging that it was rogue. Space Odyssey HAL 9000 stuff. 😬 — Chris Sprow
Most-clicked in the newsletter yesterday: Sheet-pan grilled cheese. 🧀
📫 That’s all for now! Say hello at thepulse@theathletic.com, and check out our other newsletters.