Tanking, to some, has been a problem in the NBA. It’s been going on forever, most likely since the NBA started. One of the first tanks was the 1983-1984 Houston Rockets. They started 20-26, not far off a .500 record, then gave up on their season, reducing minutes to seasoned veterans and more minutes to their less talented players. The Rockets ended up finishing with a 29-53. Ultimately, landing the first overall pick and selecting a Rocket great, Hakeem Olajuwon. Later, they made the playoffs in 1984-1985 with a 48-34 record; however, they were eliminated in the first round against the Utah Jazz. But ended up winning a championship in 1995, completing a successful tank job with Olajuwon, even though it took a while.
With a generational draft class coming up with college stars AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson, amongst other great players who will be the future of the league, there are multiple teams tanking. If you’re interested in who I think the best prospect is in this class, check out this story https://timberlinepawprint.com/7172/opinion/aj-mania/.
Teams that are considered “tanking” are the Utah Jazz, Sacramento Kings, New Orleans Pelicans, Indiana Pacers, Brooklyn Nets, and the Washington Wizards. Teams that are kind of in the middle are the Memphis Grizzlies, Dallas Mavericks, and the Chicago Bulls. On February 12th, 2026, Adam Silver fined the Jazz 500,000 dollars for violating the league’s anti-tanking policies, as well as fined the Pacers 100,000 dollars for violating the same policies. All because the teams sat their starters/best players at the end of their games in attempts to lose. Seven days later, on February 19th, 2026, Silver announces that the league will plan to add anti-tanking rules in the near future, as close as the 2026-2027 season.
Rules like these could freeze lottery odds at the trade deadline, meaning the worst teams at the trade deadline would have the best odds of landing the number one pick. Limiting teams from securing top 4 picks in back-to-back years and restricting first-round draft pick protections. Other ideas include a Two-Year Record Evaluation, where lottery odds would be based on performances from 2 years instead of 1. An Extended Lottery, which would allow all the play-in teams, meaning teams that made the playoffs, would get a lottery pick. Or they just go with the more basic choice in Stricter player participation enforcement, this is where they just continue fines and penalties for teams resting healthy players, but increase the fine amount as well. But Silver’s favorite resolution to every problem in the NBA is a tournament. Which is also an option, but considering that many fans would be one of the worst choices for anti-tanking of all time.
But I am gonna shoot all of these options down and discuss the major flaws within these “Anti-Tanking” proposals. Freezing the lottery odds at the deadline won’t do much because the bad teams that have been tanking all year will still have the top odds because they would be trash all season. Limiting teams from securing two top 4 picks in back-to-back years could work, but that still wouldn’t fix the fact that they get a lottery pick for being bad. An extended lottery will not work at all, but it would give the 9th and 10th seeds better chances at the top picks. A two-year record thing would not work because teams would still tank for two years. Most NBA fans would also agree with me that the tournament would not be it.
The best idea out of all of them is probably increasing the fines and making the policies stricter. My point I am trying to get at is that there is no real way to fix tanking. If it has happened for more than 40 years and suddenly it is a big problem is kind of weird. Teams do not wanna see Cooper Flagg go to the Mavericks the year after they make the worst trade in NBA history. They wanna see top prospects for years going on and on, build up a team together that will be able to be a contender at some time. I am not the NBA commissioner, but if I was I would just let the bad teams be what they are.
