NBA Anti-Tanking Rule Changes Reportedly Eyed, Latest on Draft Picks, Lottery and More

The NBA is reportedly exploring potential rule changes that would help deter teams from tanking during the regular season.

According to ESPN's Shams Charania, multiple sources said the league presented several ideas during a board of governors meeting on Friday regarding "potential modifications to rules regarding draft pick protections, the draft lottery and other possible approaches."

Per Charania, sources revealed multiple ideas that were proposed to potentially combat tanking, including:

• "Limiting pick protections to either top four or 14 and higher, which would eliminate the problematic mid-lottery protections."
• "No longer allowing a team to draft in the top four two years in a row."
• "Locking lottery positions after March 1."

Multiple sources noted to Charania that the attempts to find solutions to tanking "are not intended to deter rebuilding teams who use their players as normal, but rather teams that deliberately manipulate their rosters down the stretch of a season in order to land a higher pick or a protection range."

The strategy of tanking has become more prevalent in recent years, especially since the NBA changed its draft lottery rules in 2019. The three worst teams in the regular season have the same 14 percent odds to earn the No. 1 overall pick, as well as a 52.1 percent chance of landing in the top four. However, three teams outside of the top five have landed the No. 1 pick since the rule change, including in the last two years with the Atlanta Hawks (10th) and Dallas Mavericks (11th).

The NBA had previously fined teams for blatant attempts to tank by manipulating player availability and performance. Still, the attraction of future stars in each passing draft class has been hard to ignore for teams that are out of playoff contention.

As the competitive balance in the NBA continues to shift, teams will keep trying to load up on young talent. It's important that the league figures out a way to provide a fair shot for struggling teams to rebuild while maintaining the integrity of competition throughout the entire regular season.