NBA is reviewing new ideas to reduce tanking after recent gambling-related cases raised concerns about roster manipulation. League officials discussed possible draft and lottery changes with owners, aiming to keep teams competitive late in the season while tightening injury reporting rules.
The NBA is taking new steps to address tanking as the league looks to protect competition integrity following a gambling scandal earlier this season.
According to ESPN, the league has started collecting feedback from team owners and general managers on possible rule changes. These talks took place during a board of governors meeting on Friday, where several ideas were presented as part of a broader effort to reduce intentional losing.
This renewed focus comes alongside newly introduced policies aimed at preventing insider information leaks and performance manipulation.
Those rules followed federal indictments involving Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former NBA player Damon Jones.
Credit AP - Scanpix
While the new policies target betting-related issues, the league also sees tanking as closely connected, especially through injury reporting and roster decisions late in the season.
In recent years, several teams have rested key players or shut them down entirely to improve draft odds. These moves are often linked to protected draft picks, which can create incentives to lose games late in the year.
NBA reportedly presented multiple ideas as part of an early brainstorming process. Among them were limiting draft pick protections to either the top 4 or 14 and higher, which would remove mid-lottery protections.
Another proposal would prevent teams from drafting in the top four in back-to-back years. The league also discussed the possibility of locking lottery positions after March 1.
The goal of these changes would be to keep non-playoff teams competitive through the end of the season. League officials stressed that the intent is not to punish rebuilding teams playing young players, but to discourage teams that deliberately weaken their lineups to chase better draft positioning.
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