Before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s free-throw attempts became the biggest storyline in the NBA this season, it was tanking, teams not trying to remain competitive to bolster their odds at one of the top picks in this loaded NBA draft class.
To combat tanking, Adam Silver and the NBA confirmed that the league office would implement anti-tanking rules, with the ideal scenario being to set the new rules for the 2026-2027 season. Announced on Thursday, the NBA’s anti-tanking rules are set to debut next season after the NBA’s Board of Governors passed them.
The new rules feature pivotal changes, the first of which is an increase in the number of lottery teams from 14 to 16. The next change is that the bottom three teams in the NBA will now be punished by receiving two lottery balls, compared to the fourth- to 10th-worst teams in the league receiving three lottery balls. The final change to the actual lottery process is that flattened odds are now in place.
To sum up these changes, it’s now harder for the worst teams in the league to get better, and it promotes the idea of competitive Basketball down the stretch of the season, so teams can earn more lottery balls. For example, the Washington Wizards have the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft after finishing with the worst record in the NBA. Had the new rules been set in place, they would have had a less likely chance at the first overall pick than seven other teams.
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Before Shai Gilgeous-Alexander‘s free-throw attempts became the biggest storyline in the NBA this season, it was tanking, teams not trying to remain competitive to bolster their odds at one of the top picks in this loaded NBA draft class.
To combat tanking, Adam Silver and the NBA confirmed that the league office would implement anti-tanking rules, with the ideal scenario being to set the new rules for the 2026-2027 season. Announced on Thursday, the NBA’s anti-tanking rules are set to debut next season after the NBA’s Board of Governors passed them.
NBA Anti-Tanking details
The new rules feature pivotal changes, the first of which is an increase in the number of lottery teams from 14 to 16. The next change is that the bottom three teams in the NBA will now be punished by receiving two lottery balls, compared to the fourth- to 10th-worst teams in the league receiving three lottery balls. The final change to the actual lottery process is that flattened odds are now in place.
To sum up these changes, it’s now harder for the worst teams in the league to get better, and it promotes the idea of competitive Basketball down the stretch of the season, so teams can earn more lottery balls. For example, the Washington Wizards have the No. 1 pick in this year’s draft after finishing with the worst record in the NBA. Had the new rules been set in place, they would have had a less likely chance at the first overall pick than seven other teams.
The No. 1 pick now has a 71% chance to go to a team that placed 6th-12th place, and just a 29% chance that it falls to a bottom-five team in the league.
Changes to how often teams can select at the top of the draft
The other giant change with these new rules is how often a team can pick at the top of the draft. Teams now cannot win the No. 1 overall pick in consecutive years, and cannot pick in the top five for three years in a row.
This impacts the Memphis Grizzlies for next season, who could have Utah’s pick if it’s the most favorable, but since Utah has picked top 5 in back-to-back seasons, that pick now can’t be a top 5 pick.
Ultimately, it makes sense as far as encouraging teams not to finish bottom three in the league, but at the same time, it does feel weird that it’s now going to be difficult for the worst teams to get better. Now, sneaky-good teams, borderline playoff teams, or good teams that had injuries that plagued their seasons will get the better prospects.
So now, for the first time ever in American sports, being mediocre is going to pay off.
