Adam Silver on tanking: 'We are going to fix it. Full stop.'

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Wednesday that the league plans to implement major changes to its draft lottery system with an eye toward curbing the practice of tanking. “We are going to fix it,” Silver said . “Full stop.

" During a press conference following the league’s Board of Governors meetings in New York, Silver offered updates on a number of issues facing the league, including the decision to explore expansion to Seattle and Las Vegas , the possibility of establishing a new league in Europe , and the efficacy of the league’s Player Participation Policy and the 65-game threshold for year-end awards eligibility , among other matters. Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season “I would say virtually everything we covered at the board meeting was very positive,” Silver said. “One topic, not so positive.

And that’s ongoing tanking issues in the league. ” The league’s owners had “a lengthy conversation about the issue,” according to Silver, who acknowledged that franchises doing less than their level best to win — intentionally plunging to the bottom of the standings in hopes of improving their chances of landing higher draft picks — is nothing new. Concerns about teams purposely putting non-competitive teams on the floor in pursuit of potentially transformative talents have persisted for decades, helping lead to the introduction of the NBA Draft Lottery in 1985.

“That lottery has been modified four times since then,” Silver noted. “Obviously, it does not seem to be operating optimally, where we are now. ” Adam Silver watches a game between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz at Moda Center on March 13, 2026, in Portland, Oregon.