As the NBA playoffs get ready to start, there’s also a lot of discussion regarding the bottom of the league.
The college basketball season has ended, and some of the league’s worst teams have been prioritizing the upcoming draft and its stacked class for nearly two months. NBA Commissioner Adam Silver believes this is a major problem, and top league insider Shams Charania revealed the latest news on how the league plans to address tanking.
NBA Eyes Draft Lottery Changes To Stop Tanking
Charania revealed the latest update on the NBA’s fight to remove massive tanking from the game through potential lottery changes. Charania said “Sources told me there’s a Board of Governors vote on May 28th for new anti-tanking draft lottery reform. The proposed concept with the most momentum right now is option one, and that’s the one with the flattened odds, 18 teams, the bottom 10 teams will then have the same percent chance for the top pick.”
Charania added “The one thing the league is trying to do is de-incentivizing jockeying for the bottom.”
Reporting for NBA Today on a Board of Governors vote expected for May 28 to make anti-tanking rule changes: pic.twitter.com/Wlhp378i2T
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) April 8, 2026
The Washington Wizards currently have the worst record in the NBA at 17-62. They’re currently on a seven-game losing streak and have essentially been in tanking mode for over a month.
Key trade deadline acquisitions Anthony Davis and Trae Young aren’t expected to play again this season, and promising franchise cornerstone Alex Sarr has been in and out of the lineup over the last month.
The team also acquired veteran point guard D’Angelo Russell in the Davis trade, but he hasn’t appeared in a game for the team, which critics would cite while discussing tanking.
Under the proposed system, the Wizards would have the same odds of securing the first overall pick as the Milwaukee Bucks, who haven’t been actively tanking, but have fallen out of the playoff race while the future of Giannis Antetokounmpo hangs in the balance. Acquiring the number one pick would open up a new set of options for the organization as they figure out their next move.
The Utah Jazz are currently on a 10-Game losing streak, and have already been fined this year for tanking. Any new proposals altering the draft lottery would certainly be aimed at the Jazz.
Charania’s update is another sign that change is coming and the league’s bottom teams will likely become more competitive in the season’s final weeks. It will be interesting to see what reforms the Adam Silver-led NBA implements to address the tanking issue that has become a talking point in recent weeks.
