Following December's initial proposals and recent fines on the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers for resting stars, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told general managers tweaks to combat tanking will start next season, including expanded draft lottery reforms.
Building on December's Board of Governors discussions—which proposed limits on traded pick protections, consecutive top-four pick bans, and post-March 1 lottery locks—the NBA is accelerating anti-tanking efforts. This follows $500,000 and $100,000 fines, respectively, against the Jazz and Pacers for 'conduct detrimental to competition' via lineup changes prioritizing draft position.
Silver stated, "Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition," while confirming work with the Competition Committee and Board of Governors. At his All-Star Weekend press conference, he added, "We need a system to fairly distribute players... What we're doing right now is not working."
New ideas shared with the 30 GMs for next season build on prior ones:
- Freezing lottery odds at the trade deadline or later.
- Prohibiting top-four picks after consecutive bottom-three finishes.
- Barring top-four picks the year after reaching conference finals.
- Allocating odds based on two-year records.
- Extending lottery to play-in teams.
- Further flattening odds.
These address criticisms of the 2019 lottery reform prolonging rebuilds for teams like the Wizards and Jazz, amid challenges like declining free agency, agent-driven second rounds, and high trade costs (e.g., Desmond Bane's four firsts). Analysts note risks like earlier tanking ahead of strong classes like 2026's, but the league prioritizes fairer talent distribution amid betting concerns.
