NBA plans to enact anti-tanking rules next season, sources say

Commissioner Adam Silver informed the league’s 30 general managers Thursday that the NBA plans to make anti-tanking rule changes for next season, sources told ESPN.

The league office’s conversations with stakeholders from the board of governors, competition committee and GMs have been intensifying dialogue about combatting tanking — including starting to propose potential concepts for changes in December during its meeting with owners.

Multiple sources with knowledge of Thursday’s meeting as well as a late January competition committee meeting told ESPN that these concepts have been discussed to curb tanking:

• First-round draft picks can be protected only for top-four or top-14-plus selections

• Lottery odds freeze at the trade deadline or a later date

• No longer allowing a team to pick top four in consecutive years and/or after consecutive bottom-three finishes

• Teams can’t pick top four the year after making conference finals

• Lottery odds allocated based on two-year records

• Lottery extended to include all play-in teams

• Flatten odds for all lottery teams

During Thursday’s GM meeting, Silver, the NBA office and the league’s 30 top team executives shared a desire to have ongoing discussions to safeguard the integrity of the sport. Silver was described as “forceful” with his message about wanting to attack the problem that has gained steam across the league in recent weeks.

Sources said Mike Krzyzewski, the senior adviser to basketball operations for the league office, delivered a message at Thursday’s meeting that there should be a prompt, tasteful “attack” on the problem and that all involved should be prepared to respond to what the league enacts in the coming months and year.

During his All-Star Weekend news conference, Silver said that tanking has been “worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory” and that he was considering “every possible remedy” to combat the problem.

Earlier Thursday, Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia sounded off on the issue and called tanking “much worse than any prop bet scandal” in a lengthy post to X.

Last week, the NBA fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 and the Indiana Pacers $100,000, saying both teams sat healthy players in recent games and noting that moves that compromise the league’s integrity won’t be tolerated.