NBA Tackling Tanking with New Lottery System

Adam Silver is finally addressing the ongoing tanking issue in the NBA—something he’s largely overlooked for years.

The league is reportedly looking at a “3-2-1 lottery” system that could be quite intricate—perhaps as complicated as those government stimulus bills.

Essentially, Silver is attempting to enforce regulations to combat the past incentives that benefited teams performing poorly. This new proposal aims to expand the lottery, increasing the number of teams from 14 to 16, effectively putting the three worst teams in a sort of relegation zone.

In a rather classic Silver move, these bottom teams would receive fewer lottery balls compared to those that are just slightly better. The underlying logic seems to reward mediocrity over outright failure. Teams that fall in the middle of the lottery would be given the most favorable odds, while the very worst teams would have diminished chances of snagging a top pick.

The message here appears to be clear: stop striving to be the worst and, maybe, aim for mediocrity instead.

Essentially, Silver is trying to reshape the draft lottery so that the biggest losers don’t reap the biggest rewards. Even the worst teams would still have some floor rights, so they can’t fall beyond the 12th pick. This approach illustrates the league’s careful effort to discourage tanking while still safeguarding struggling teams.

The proposed changes also include banning consecutive top picks and forbidding any team from securing a top-five pick for three years in a row. After observing the implications of blatant tanking strategies, it has become apparent that rewarding poor performance can harm the overall brand.

To add another layer, teams will no longer be allowed to protect picks between the 12th and 15th positions. This change aims to prevent late-season tanking intended to maintain mid-round selections.

For years, Silver seemed to treat tanking lightly, almost as a nuisance, similar to ignoring a pest problem. Now, the “3-2-1” initiative seems like a serious attempt to tackle competitiveness issues that have developed under his leadership.

This effort might cut down on overt tanking but, honestly, might just make the lottery more confusing for fans.

Either way, it looks like the NBA is finally acknowledging that its current system isn’t functioning as it should.