The NBA's long-standing battle with tanking may be approaching a pivotal moment. According to league sources, multiple franchises are preparing to submit formal proposals to Commissioner Adam Silver that aim to fundamentally reshape the draft system. The message from front offices is loud and clear: it’s time to reward winning and eliminate the incentive to lose.
This isn’t just about tweaking odds or making cosmetic changes to the lottery. Teams are pushing for a full-on overhaul.
We're talking about potentially eliminating pick protections, rethinking how draft value is assigned, and recalibrating the lottery odds to make sure that teams aren’t rewarded for losing games down the stretch. The goal?
Restore competitive integrity across all 82 games of the season.
One executive from a non-lottery team reportedly told ESPN’s Bobby Marks that his organization would “write a blank check” for a top-three pick in this year’s draft. That kind of desperation underscores just how valuable the top of this class is perceived to be-and how far some teams are willing to go to get there.
The urgency behind these proposals isn’t coming out of nowhere. The league has seen a string of eyebrow-raising decisions in recent weeks, none more prominent than the Utah Jazz’s $500,000 fine for sitting Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. during late-game situations against Orlando and Miami.
Head coach Will Hardy stood by the decision, citing medical concerns, while team owner Ryan Smith publicly questioned the league’s response. But Silver has remained firm: the NBA will not tolerate teams putting draft positioning above competition.
Utah’s situation is just the latest flashpoint in a broader league-wide conversation. In recent seasons, Indiana, Toronto, Dallas, and even Milwaukee have faced scrutiny over late-season roster management. Whether it’s resting stars, limiting minutes, or leaning heavily on bench units in winnable games, the optics have been hard to ignore-especially when those decisions coincide with a team’s place in the standings.
The Jazz, currently near the bottom of the Western Conference, have become a symbol of the issue. In multiple recent games, starters like Markkanen, Jackson Jr., and Jusuf Nurkić were benched in the fourth quarter-even with the game still in the balance. In one case, Utah leaned on its reserves and still pulled off a win in Miami, a result that likely didn’t help their draft position but did raise questions about the team’s actual intent.
They’re not alone. Washington brought in veteran talent but has been hesitant to play them in meaningful stretches.
Indiana has taken a cautious approach with newly acquired players. Dallas and Brooklyn have made clear moves toward rebuilding through the draft, while Memphis continues to stockpile picks in a way that signals a longer-term plan.
All of this is happening despite the league’s previous efforts to curb tanking. Flattened lottery odds were introduced to reduce the incentive to bottom out, but when the top of a draft class is viewed as particularly strong-as it is this year-teams still find ways to chase those premium picks.
The result? A distorted competitive landscape where nearly a third of the league may be prioritizing future assets over present-day wins.
That’s the tension the league is now trying to resolve. Can the NBA redesign its draft system in a way that discourages tanking without punishing rebuilding teams or undermining parity? That’s the challenge in front of Adam Silver and his office-and it’s one that could define the next era of league policy.
The proposals being floated suggest that teams are ready for real change. Whether it’s removing protections that allow teams to game the system, or rewarding wins in the standings more directly, the league seems to be moving toward a structure that prioritizes effort and competitiveness from Game 1 through Game 82.
The NBA has always been a league that evolves. From the introduction of the play-in tournament to changes in All-Star voting and schedule adjustments, it’s shown a willingness to adapt when the product on the floor demands it. Now, with tanking once again in the spotlight, the league may be on the verge of its biggest structural change yet.