The NBA tanking drama just got another plot twist! Teams that spent the season circling the bottom of the standings, hoping for a better pick in the Draft lottery, could soon see their strategy bite the dust. With NBA Commissioner Adam Silver and league officials leaning toward one of the three proposed plans, the lottery talk is no longer just ideas. The change could be coming soon, as Adam Silver prepares to guide the league toward a final decision on anti-tanking measures.
Back in late March, the league’s Board of Governors gathered to discuss the three anti-tanking ideas. One plan pushed for an 18-team lottery, another stretched the pool to 22 teams (incorporating two-year records), while the third still kept 18 teams but gave the worst teams higher odds at the top picks.
Now, the conversation has reached the decisive stage under Commissioner Adam Silver’s leadership. NBA Insider Shams Charania, speaking on the matter, said, “There was a GM call on Tuesday night where they’re all continuing the conversation on this. And sources tell me there’s a Board of Governors vote on May 28th for new anti-tanking draft lottery reform.” Moreover, the 32-year-old added that among the three proposals, the first option, which was widely seen as a frontrunner, has gathered the most momentum and would likely be the direction that the league would head.
Reporting for NBA Today on a Board of Governors vote expected for May 28 to make anti-tanking rule changes: pic.twitter.com/Wlhp378i2T
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 8, 2026
Under the first option, 18 teams would enter the lottery, with the bottom 10 having equal odds of getting the top picks. However, several tweaks are still under discussion. Speaking of which, Charania said:
“Modifications, though, are expected to this concept. Is there a way to tier these teams? Top 8, then 9 and 10 separately, then 11 to 18. They’re going to continue to discuss ideas and figure out some kind of a holistic approach.”
While the Insider exclaimed that “there’s no perfect solution”, he looked at the ideas to keep the standings in a tier-based system. This would separate the worst 8 teams from the rest to create a balance and “disincentivize the jockeying” to the bottom of the table.
This would be the NBA’s latest effort to crack down on tanking, building on changes it has already tried in the past. Back in 2019, the league adjusted the draft lottery by flattening the odds for the top four picks, so instead of the worst team having a 25% shot at the No. 1 pick, it dropped to about 14%. They also expanded the lottery pool to include 14 teams.
At first, those changes seemed to help. Tanking became less extreme, and the race to the bottom wasn’t quite as obvious. But over time, teams started finding ways around the system again. In recent seasons, especially between 2023 and 2025, several franchises leaned heavily into rebuilding, openly prioritizing future assets over trying to win in the moment.
That’s where the new proposal comes in. It takes things a step further by widening the lottery to as many as 18 teams and giving the bottom 10 equal odds at the top pick.
The idea is simple: if losing more games doesn’t improve your chances, there’s less incentive to tank in the first place. In other words, it’s an attempt to close the loopholes that teams have continued to exploit even after the 2019 reforms.
As the league’s chief executive, Adam Silver holds significant influence over the direction of these reforms.
He is responsible for presenting the recommended changes to the Board of Governors and ultimately overseeing the implementation of any new anti-tanking policies.
Silver has long expressed concerns about tanking undermining the integrity of the NBA product — stating publicly that “we are going to fix it. Full stop.” and sources indicate he is now nearing a decisive push on this issue following months of internal discussions among GMs and owners.
And that’s where today’s struggling teams would enter the conversation.
Should the NBA punish tanking teams right away?
Just last night, the Sacramento Kings found themselves under scrutiny, fouling 86.4% free throw shooter Seth Curry with 3 minutes left in a clutch game. And a few days earlier, the NBA had to investigate Giannis Antetokounmpo and his team, regarding his absence, suspecting a possible tanking ploy.
In the meantime, the league—under Commissioner Adam Silver—is actively working its way to reform the lottery to end tanking. If the proposal comes through by the end of May, the teams at the bottom, especially those with the three worst records, could lose the cushion they once relied on.
Meaning, deliberately losing now means nothing cause the teams that finished in the bottom 10 will have equal odds at the top pick. The teams like the Wizards, Pacers, Jazz, Kings, and Nets are fighting their way to the bottom.
These races to the bottom may mean nothing once the league incorporates the new proposal.
Interestingly, the NBA isn’t alone in dealing with this kind of problem. Other leagues have faced similar challenges and tried their own fixes. The NFL, for example, has tweaked its draft system multiple times to discourage teams from losing on purpose.
Changes like more detailed tiebreakers and the so-called “worst-to-first” turnaround effect are meant to keep competition meaningful, even if they don’t eliminate the issue entirely.
Taken together, it shows how tricky this balance really is. Leagues want to give struggling teams a path to improve, but without making losing a strategy. And as this latest proposal suggests, finding that balance is still very much a work in progress.
