Adam Silver seeks aggressive solutions to tanking: "It is the worst year in history"

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver acknowledged on Saturday that the phenomenon of tanking has reached more concerning levels than in recent seasons and stated that the league is willing to explore all possible options to combat it, including the possibility of withdrawing draft picks from franchises that engage in such behaviors.

During his pre-All-Star 2026 appearance on Saturday, Silver explained that the recent behaviors of some teams have exposed a structural issue in the league's incentives.

"Before, this was simply an agreement among partners on how to behave," Silver noted. "Now we are seeing modern analytics clearly showing that the incentives are misaligned. Are we witnessing the worst behavior in recent history? Yes, that's my opinion. That's why fines were imposed, and that's why I have said we will scrutinize everything more closely this season."

The statements come just days after the NBA fined Utah Jazz $500,000 and Indiana Pacers $100,000 for the way they managed their rotations, which the league deemed detrimental to competition.

Rethinking the draft system

Silver also raised the possibility of a deeper debate on the very structure of the draft and the lottery, suggesting that after decades of similar operation, it might be time to reconsider the model.

The commissioner mentioned a recent conversation with 97-year-old Bob Cousy about the first All-Star Game held in 1950, prompting him to reflect on how much the NBA has evolved since then and how that same spirit of change should apply to other aspects of the league.

"We are talking about a league with 80 years of history. It's time to look at these things with fresh eyes," Silver explained. "If teams are manipulating their performance to get higher picks, even within a lottery, then we must ask ourselves if the worst teams are really the ones ending with the worst records."

According to Silver, discussions with general managers and competition committee members have highlighted that there is not always a real difference between, for example, the team with the worst record and others a few spots above, especially when there are clear incentives to lose.

Clear warning to franchises

Beyond potential structural changes, Silver emphasized that the recent fines aim to send a direct message to the entire league.

"I wanted teams to be on alert very intentionally," he stated. "We will scrutinize all the circumstances of this season more closely."

The message is clear: the NBA considers tanking to have become a major problem and does not rule out drastic measures to protect the league's competitive integrity.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Adam Silver busca soluciones agresivas al tanking: "Está siendo el peor año de la historia"