NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has reiterated his commitment to addressing the issue of "tanking" within the league. Following his recent media address where he firmly stated the league's intent to resolve the problem, the NBA brought forward three potential anti-tanking strategies during a recent Board of Governors meeting, as reported by Shams Charania of ESPN.

Proposed Lottery System Reforms

The suggested changes aim to restructure how draft order is determined to reduce the incentive for teams to lose intentionally:

  • The 18-team lottery model: This plan involves the 10 teams that finish at the bottom and miss the play-in tournament, along with the eight teams that participate in the play-in. The bottom 10 teams would share equal probabilities, while the remaining eight would have staggered odds.
  • The 22-team expanded lottery: This proposal includes the same 18 teams mentioned above but adds the four franchises eliminated in the first round of the playoffs. Draft positioning would be determined by a team's combined performance over two seasons, with the top four picks decided via lottery.
  • The 18-team split-lottery model: Similar to the first proposal, this version groups the five teams with the worst records with identical odds for a top-5 selection. The remaining 13 teams would enter a separate lottery. Under this structure, any of the five worst-performing teams that miss out on a top-5 pick would still be assured a spot in the top 10.

Balancing Rebuilding and Integrity

While the league is prioritizing this issue, Silver acknowledged the complexity of the situation. He noted, «There is an aspect of team building that is called a genuine rebuild, a rebuild with integrity. The problem we're having these days is it's become almost impossible to distinguish between the tank and rebuild.»

These proposals are currently in the preliminary stages and are expected to undergo further refinement before a formal vote in May. The league's vigilance comes after recent disciplinary actions, including fines issued to the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers for conduct perceived as "overt" tanking.