All articles tagged with #league reform
Commissioner Adam Silver outlined a proposed anti-tanking reform that would replace current lottery odds with flat odds and a relegation-style penalty for bottom teams, potentially stripping lottery balls and moving toward a 3-2-1 system with 16 lottery spots to deter deliberate losses and curb consecutive top picks; the NBA asserts it has authority to change odds and draft order if teams tank.
The NBA is proposing a 3-2-1 lottery system with 37 balls across 16 teams to curb tanking: the bottom three teams would get two balls, teams 4-10 would get three, the No. 9 and No. 10 seeds would get two, and the Play-In loser could land any pick from 1 to 16, with the winner’s position constrained; the three worst clubs would be barred from falling below No. 12, and the commissioner would have power to adjust odds. The plan runs through the 2029 draft with a sunset and a review then; the piece explores five lingering questions: whether it ends tanking or just shifts it (including circumstantial tanking tied to Play-In outcomes), whether repeated-success penalties are fair, how traded picks would be affected, whether the floor is too extreme, and what could happen in 2029 if the reform doesn’t work, possibly prompting more radical changes.