The NBA has been discussing new tanking rules for some time, and Commissioner Adam Silver and the rest of the league began meeting to determine how to fix what they perceived as a major issue.
Tanking has been a massive part of the league and has helped many teams turn their franchises around (see the San Antonio Spurs, who took Victor Wembanyama with the top pick in 2023 after a 22-60 season).
On Thursday, the league officially put out a new rule concerning the NBA’s draft lottery, and it is getting a poor reception, much like it did last month.
NBA World Calls for Adam Silver’s Job After Announcement of New Anti-Tanking Rule
Silver and the NBA announced their new anti-tanking rule on Thursday, and ESPN’s Shams Charania had the scoop.
Charania wrote: “Breaking: The NBA’s Board of Governors has passed new anti-tanking rules that include expanding the draft lottery from 14 to 16 teams, a relegation zone where the bottom 3 teams get penalized with lessened chances for the No. 1 pick, and flattened odds, sources tell ESPN.”
No, the lottery will have 16 teams, and the three worst teams will have less of a chance to win the top pick and therefore less of a chance to land the kind of impact player that can turn a franchise around.
In fact, the top pick in 2023 (Wembanyama), 2022 (Paolo Banchero of the Magic), 2021 (Cade Cunningham of the Pistons), and 2020 (Anthony Edwards of the Timberwolves) all had their teams in the postseason this year.
The NBA world was not pleased with the changes. Kings Muse pointed out that it’s now a tanking race to the fourth pick. “Yay, now teams will tank to be the 4th worst team!” they wrote.
Yay now teams will tank to be the 4th worst team!
— KingsMuse (@kings_muse) May 28, 2026
Mavs Film Room took aim at Silver. “Congratulations Adam Silver, you destroyed the NBA!!! Woo hoo!!!”
Congratulations Adam Silver, you destroyed the NBA!!! Woo hoo!!!
— Mavs Film Room 🐴🎥 (@MavsFilmRoom) May 28, 2026
NBA Rewind has a simple request: Silver’s replacement. “New commissioner please,” they said.
New commissioner please.
— NBA Performances (@NBARewinds) May 28, 2026
“Get silver outta here,” Sleeper Hoops agreed.
Get silver outta here
— SleeperHoops (@Sleeper_Hoops) May 28, 2026
Torey Jones also had a simple statement for Silver. “Adam Silver is the worst commissioner in the history of sports,” Jones wrote.
Adam Silver is the worst commissioner in the history of sports.
— Torey Jones (@ToreyJonesYT) May 28, 2026
Kyle Becker, a famous politics analyst, also mentioned that Silver wasn’t the right man for the job. “NBA teams need to make a move to protect their product. Get Silver out of there!” he wrote.
NBA teams need to make a move to protect their product. Get Silver out of there! @NBA
— Kyle Becker (@kylenabecker) May 28, 2026
This is clearly not a popular decision by Silver and the league, and the fans are rightfully upset. Sure, tanking has caused some issues at times, and we’ve even seen teams fined for it, but overall, it’s been very fun for the sport, and the lottery keeps things interesting even when your team is out of the postseason and has been out of contention for some time.
We’ll see if the NBA can keep that interest up with this new rule in place.
