NBA Commissioner Adam Silver discussed potential new policies with team executives to prevent deliberate losing strategies. The league is considering changes like locking draft lottery odds by specific dates to eliminate incentives for teams to tank late in the season.
The National Basketball Association is pushing ahead with plans to implement fresh regulations next season designed to eliminate teams’ motivation to deliberately lose games, according to two sources familiar with the discussions who spoke Thursday.
During a conference call with team general managers Thursday, Commissioner Adam Silver outlined multiple potential solutions to address the tanking problem, the sources told The Associated Press anonymously since no official announcements have been made. Silver had previously stated during last weekend’s All-Star festivities that “every possible remedy … to stop this behavior” was being considered.
ESPN initially broke the news about Silver’s conversation with the general managers regarding the league’s anti-tanking strategy.
While no final decisions have been reached, one source indicated numerous concepts are under review. One proposal involves establishing fixed lottery odds by a specific calendar date, which would remove any advantage for teams to lose games during the season’s final stretch.
The matter is expected to receive additional attention during next month’s Board of Governors gathering.
The tanking controversy has dominated NBA discussions recently, highlighted by the Utah Jazz receiving a $500,000 penalty for “conduct detrimental to the league.” The fine specifically targeted their decision to bench Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. during fourth quarters of two contests, despite both players being healthy and the games’ outcomes still uncertain.
Additionally, the Indiana Pacers faced a $100,000 fine for breaking the Player Participation Policy by resting key players, including Pascal Siakam, who qualifies as a “star” under league guidelines, during their matchup with Utah this month.
This ongoing issue has prompted repeated league intervention over the years, including modifications to the lottery system, implementation of the Player Participation Policy, and substantial financial penalties. The Dallas Mavericks received a $750,000 fine in 2023 for sitting most starters in a late-season contest while still competing for playoff positioning.
“I think we’re coming at it in two ways. One is, again, focusing on the here and now, the behavior we’re seeing from our teams and doing whatever we can to remind them of what their obligation is to the fans and to their partner teams,” Silver explained during All-Star weekend. “But number two … the competition committee started earlier this year reexamining the whole approach to how the draft lottery works.”
“We want to have fair competition, we want to have fair systems and to keep an eye on the fans, most importantly, and their expectation that we’re going to be putting the best product forward,” he added.