NBA Commissioner Adam Silver stated that substantial changes to the draft lottery system will be implemented next season to deter tanking. Speaking at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, Silver emphasized the need for adjustments beyond minor tweaks while distinguishing between legitimate rebuilds and intentional losses. The league has already fined teams like the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers for actions perceived as tanking.
Tanking has emerged as a significant concern in the NBA this season, prompting Commissioner Adam Silver to announce upcoming modifications to the draft lottery system. During a panel at the annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston on March 6, 2026, Silver declared, "We are going to make substantial changes for next year."
Silver explored various options, including the extreme idea of completely decoupling the draft order from teams' regular-season records, which could allow even Finals winners a chance at the top pick. However, he expressed caution, describing himself as "an incrementalist" and favoring changes that are "significantly more than just tinkering with the existing system" without overhauling it entirely. He referenced the WNBA's approach of using the combined records from the last two seasons to determine lottery odds for non-playoff teams as a potential model.
The commissioner highlighted issues with protected draft picks, which create "cliffs" incentivizing teams to finish in specific positions, such as the sixth-worst record over the fifth. "Where you have sort of arbitrary lines of protected draft picks, creating huge incentives... So there are a bunch of things we're looking at now. We have to address it," Silver said.
Silver differentiated between genuine rebuilds, where young teams strive to win nightly, and more blatant tanking, such as resting healthy players mid-game. The NBA has escalated enforcement, fining the Utah Jazz $500,000 for holding out top players in a competitive fourth quarter and the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for resting fit players. He attributed heightened tanking this year to a "perceived, very deep draft," with prospects like AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Cam Boozer viewed as game-changers, contrasted against weaker upcoming drafts.
While reports suggest ideas like freezing odds at the trade deadline or barring consecutive top-four picks, Silver did not endorse specifics, noting the challenge of eliminating tanking entirely while preserving the draft's purpose.
