NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has notified the league’s 30 general managers that new anti-tanking regulations will take effect next season, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.
Charania reported on Thursday that the league is examining several proposals designed to discourage teams from deliberately losing games to improve their draft position. The discussion follows a season in which the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers were fined for resting healthy players early in the schedule.
Key concepts under review
Multiple sources familiar with Thursday’s meeting and a late-January session of the Competition Committee told ESPN that two primary ideas are on the table:
- Limiting first-round pick protections to either top-4 or top-14.
- Freezing or flattening draft-lottery odds at a predetermined date for all lottery teams.
Supporters believe restricting pick protections and adjusting lottery odds would remove incentives for clubs to sit players once postseason hopes fade. The league has not set a formal timeline for finalizing the rules, but Silver indicated the changes are targeted for implementation at the start of the 2026-27 campaign.
The forthcoming policy shift is the latest step in the NBA’s ongoing effort to address competitive balance and maintain fan interest throughout the regular season.
Source: Lakers Nation
