Tanking has become a major concern in the NBA with more and more teams losing on purpose in order to get better draft picks.
With the current system in place, it makes sense for bad teams to operate that way. The league has been actively looking for ways to discourage tanking though, and they finally believe they have found the solution. According to Shams Charania of ESPN, the NBA Board of Governors have approved new anti-tanking rules that will go into effect beginning next season:
Breaking: The NBA's Board of Governors has passed new anti-tanking rules that include expanding the draft lottery from 14 to 16 teams, a relegation zone where the bottom 3 teams get penalized with lessened chances for the No. 1 pick, and flattened odds, sources tell ESPN. pic.twitter.com/e1oq10p2yV
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 28, 2026
The NBA makes an unprecedented move in American pro sports league by punishing the very worst teams in the draft lottery and creating a new system to incentivize winning — after months of meetings and conversations among league, ownership and team stakeholders. A radical response… https://t.co/GBKrZzc69x
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 28, 2026
The "3-2-1 lottery" is named to represent the number of lottery balls per team. Teams with a bottom-three record — the relegation area — have only two lottery balls. Teams that do not qualify for the playoffs or play-in tournament in spots four through 10 receive three lottery… https://t.co/H1BYVdQGra
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 28, 2026
The NBA's Board of Governors vote passed 29-1 — with the Memphis Grizzlies as the lone vote against the new anti-tanking lottery reform, sources tell ESPN. https://t.co/24FUnS0cd0
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 28, 2026
As was laid out, these new rules will disadvantage the three teams with the worst records in the league by giving them fewer lottery balls. That should encourage teams at the bottom of the league to win as much as possible.
Outside of the worst three teams, the odds will be flattened to make it more even for the other lottery teams, and even the No. 8 seeds in each conference that make the playoffs will have a chance.
While these changes may not get rid of tanking altogether, the league is making it clear that this is a serious issue that they felt needed to be addressed. The new rules will be in place through 2029, and then the league can reassess how things are going and if more changes are necessary.
Rob Pelinka: tanking is not in Lakers’ infrastructure
It remains to be seen how these new rules will impact the Los Angeles Lakers, but one thing Rob Pelinka recently made clear is that their organizational philosophy is always to avoid tanking.
“You mentioned Detroit, San Antonio, OKC, what did those teams have to go through to build through the Draft, in your opinion? Multiple seasons of losses,” Pelinka said during his end-of-season press conference. “That is just not part of our infrastructure here. As much as some of us might want it to be, it’s not the Lakers Way. We have to find sustained excellence, so it does create, at times, a thread the needle. Where you’ve got to find a way to have championship rosters every year.”
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