NBA cracks down on tanking, Adam Silver: “We’re ready to punish teams”
Adam Silver confirmed growing rumors surrounding a possible overhaul of the NBA Draft Lottery: flatter odds, competitive penalties and new rules aimed at reducing tanking over the coming seasons
The NBA is preparing to change the Draft Lottery rules once again. After several seasons marked by teams increasingly focused on losing games to improve their Draft position, commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that the league will officially present a new anti-tanking proposal to franchise owners by the end of May.
Appearing on Stephen A. Smith’s radio show, Silver made the league’s objective crystal clear: remove any real advantage for teams intentionally trying to tank a season.
We’re working on a system with virtually even odds so there’s no incentive to be bad
Adam Silver
The proposal is the now widely discussed “3-2-1” system that has been circulating in the United States for weeks. Under the concept, the three worst teams in the NBA would actually have lower odds of landing the No. 1 pick than franchises positioned between fourth and tenth in the Lottery standings.
A drastic solution designed to slow down a tanking phenomenon that has become increasingly obvious in recent years.
How the “3-2-1” system would work
The league’s idea is simple: stop rewarding teams for losing the most games. Under the new format, franchises finishing with one of the three worst records in the league could end up with worse lottery odds than slightly more competitive teams.
Silver also referenced a sort of “Draft relegation”, explaining that the bottom three teams would risk sliding down the lottery probabilities instead of being rewarded for poor records.
It’s a direct response to what the league has seen over the last few seasons. Just this year, several franchises – including the Washington Wizards, Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies and Chicago Bulls – made highly questionable late-season decisions to improve their Draft positioning.
The NBA is also ready for harsher penalties
Silver confirmed the league wants greater flexibility on the disciplinary side as well. Not just financial fines, but real competitive penalties.
If we see teams that aren’t genuinely trying to win, we could remove Lottery balls or directly alter the Draft order
Adam Silver
A very clear warning to NBA franchises. Financial penalties alone are no longer enough, especially when some teams view fines as an acceptable price to pay for a better chance at landing a future superstar in the Draft.
Not coincidentally, the league had already fined the Utah Jazz this season for “conduct detrimental to the league.”
A temporary solution until 2029
The NBA still considers the proposal more of an experiment than a permanent fix. The new system would reportedly remain in place for only three seasons, through the expiration of the current collective bargaining agreement in 2029.
Silver explained that the league intends to use that window to evaluate whether the new format can truly reduce tanking or whether additional changes will be necessary.
Teams are incredibly creative when it comes to finding ways to exploit the system
Adam Silver
And that is ultimately the core issue the NBA is trying to solve: finding a balance that allows franchises to rebuild without turning entire seasons into intentional races toward defeat.