Last Friday, the NBA held a board of governors meeting. They discussed several topics. One of them was a unique issue that the league has observed in recent years.
Tanking has been a major issue across the league. At this meeting, ideas were discussed as part of a broader topic of preventing taking in the NBA. Next, we’ll dive into the potential changes the league could make moving forward. Will tanking ever go away, or is the NBA simply trying to reduce its effect on competiton?
Can the league put an end to tanking for a lottery pick?
NBA Considering Draft Reform To Prevent Tanking https://t.co/T0yQ7QuNKZ
— RealGM (@RealGM) December 23, 2025
According to ESPN’s Shams Charania, the NBA is considering draft reform as a way to prevent taking across the league. Multiple ideas have been discussed to fix the issue. The first was limiting draft pick protections to either the top four or 14 and higher. This would remove mid-lottery protections. Teams have often lost on purpose near the end of the year to ensure they keep a top-14 protected pick. That would not be the case if the league addopated thus new rule.
Another idea discussed at Friday’s board of governors meeting was limiting teams from drafting in the top four in back-to-back seasons. This could be a way to prevent long-term taking across the NBA. Additionally, the teams will be encouraged to win games after having a top-four selection. The NBA has also considered locking lottery positions as of March 1.
Sources said multiple ideas were proposed Friday as a brainstorming measure, including:
•Limiting pick protections to either top four or 14 and higher
•No longer allowing a team to draft in the top four two years in a row
•Locking lottery positions after March 1 https://t.co/ieLaS4P4qe— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) December 23, 2025
This would prevent teams from sitting key players in the last month and a half. In recent years, the NBA has changed its policies for injury reporting. The league has outright fined teams for resting their star players. NBA insider Shams Charania noted that any draft reform would have to be approved first by the board of governors.
The NBA draft lottery was last reformed in 2019. Lottery odds were flattened for the three worst teams in the NBA. Additionally, the fourth overall pick was made part of the lottery process. Tanking has been a relevant topic for years now. If the league is discussing changes, they’ll likely happen in the future. While not every fan is for it, the league wants parody. Preventing teams from outright taking is a way to make that happen.
