NBA Players Call Out Tanking Issues in Anonymous Poll Following Rule Change

NBA players overwhelmingly feel that tanking is a problem facing the league right now as commissioner Adam Silver works to find ways to curtail the issue.

In an anonymous player survey conducted by The Athletic, 71.7 percent of the 159 respondents voted that tanking is a problem.

The extent to which those surveyed view it as an issue does differ, with 43.4 percent calling it a "little problem" for the league and 28.3 percent calling it a "big problem."

"It is very terrible," one player said. "I've seen some things where people say it's … a tournament for teams that are in last place."

Another player said teams "shouldn't be rewarded for losing."

One player who didn't think tanking was an issue said they don't mind it because it helps non-tankers win games.

"It's cool if (other teams) tank because (they're) just giving us free games right now," the player said. "I feel like it's not good for the game of basketball, but I feel like with tanking, you get individual opportunities that necessarily wouldn't have been opportunities if you're trying to win. And I think that's huge."

On April 28, ESPN's Shams Charania reported the league disclosed an anti-tanking reform described as a "3-2-1" system that would expand the lottery to 16 teams, flatten the odds and decrease the chances for the bottom three teams to get the No. 1 pick by giving them fewer lottery balls.

The proposal would also prevent teams from winning the No. 1 pick in consecutive years, nor could they pick in the top five in three consecutive years. There would also be a provision that prevents teams from issuing pick protections from slots 12 to 15.

On Tuesday, The Athletic's Sam Amick reported there was a different proposal that was considered the "the leader in the clubhouse" at one point. The plan would have expanded the lottery to 18 teams, with the bottom 10 each having an eight percent chance to get the No. 1 pick and the next eight teams splitting the remaining 20 percent.

Silver has said that whatever form the lottery reform takes will be in place ahead of the 2027 draft.

The anticipated changes come after a regular season that saw an NBA-record eight teams lose at least 56 games, with 10 teams losing at least 50 games. Those 10 clubs accounted for 540 total losses (54.0 average). The remaining 20 teams lost a combined 650 games (32.5 average).