NBA's Adam Silver Says 'Substantial' Rule Changes Will Be Made to Discourage Teams from Tanking

After previously saying during All-Star weekend that all options were being considered to fix the tanking issue, NBA commissioner Adam Silver is now saying any changes will be implemented in time for next season.

Speaking at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, Silver said the league is going to make "substantial" rule changes in an attempt to curb tanking, but he did rule out the idea of separating a team's record from their draft position.

Silver's comments last month emphasized that it was "so clear that the incentives are misaligned" regarding teams without realistic playoff aspirations choosing a path that would allow them to lose as many games as possible to improve their lottery odds:

"Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we've seen in recent memory? Yes, is my view. Which was what led to those fines, and not just those fines but to my statement that we're going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams' behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice."

Those comments came after the league fined both the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers. Utah was docked $500,000 for conduct detrimental to the league for holding out Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. late in games against the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat on Feb. 7 and Feb. 9 despite the contests being decided by a combined total of five points.

The Pacers were fined $100,000 for violating the NBA's player participation policy, noting that Pascal Siakam "could have played under the medical standard in the Policy" when he was held out of a Feb. 3 game against the Jazz.

Despite the six-figure fines for both organizations, ESPN's Brian Windhorst has said one executive in the league explained there are teams that would pay up to $100 million to have the top pick in the 2026 draft because this year's class looks that good.

"I had an executive tell me that the No. 1 pick this year is worth $100 million," said Windhorst. "If you gave the opportunity to buy that pick, teams would pay $100 million for it. Keep that in mind when the Jazz were fined $500,000."

It could be reasonably argued that at least nine teams are not attempting to win games right now based on their position in the standings.

One team that's not intentionally tanking, the Milwaukee Bucks, were often discussed as having it in their best interest not to bring back Giannis Antetokounmpo from his calf injury to improve their lottery odds.

The Bucks didn't take that approach, as Antetokounmpo returned to the lineup on Monday after missing more than five weeks. They have lost both of the games he has played, so they aren't negatively impacting their lottery percentage.

But there's no arguing it's bad for the league that it could be fairly asked if it's good for a club to bring back one of the best players and biggest stars because they might risk winning too many games.

A perfect example of this is the Dallas Mavericks, who spent three months after the Luka Dončić trade in February 2025 looking like they had the bleakest outlook in the league. They had no real long-term building blocks and few draft assets, including not controlling their first-round picks between 2027 and 2030.

One thing the Mavs did have was a 39-43 record at the end of last season and a 1.8 percent chance to win the lottery. Fate smiled on them—or it was all part of the plan, depending on your perspective—and they won the No. 1 pick for the right to select Cooper Flagg.

There's still a lot of work for the Mavs' front office to do to rebuild the roster, but having Flagg as the centerpiece makes their job so much easier going forward.

While it's unclear exactly what the NBA's solution to the tanking issue might be based on Silver's comments, a longtime league executive recently told ESPN's Tim Bontemps that at some point in the season having a shift so that wins count toward a teams' lottery odds.

Whether or not that ends up being an idea that sticks with Silver, or he has something else in mind, it at least seems like there could be a solution to the tanking issue coming sooner than later.