NBA weighs anti‑tanking overhaul

The league delivered three distinct anti‑tanking concepts to its Board of Governors in New York this week and expects a formal vote on modifications in May. (espn.com) One concept would expand the lottery to 18 teams — the bottom 10 that miss the play‑in plus the eight play‑in qualifiers — and give each of the bottom 10 an equal 8% chance to move up, with the remaining 20% of odds split among seeds 11–18 and all 18 picks drawn in one lottery. (espn.com) A second concept would swell the lottery to 22 teams by adding the four first‑round playoff losers and would rank entrants by combined records across two seasons, with a minimum‑win “floor” applied to each year (ESPN used 20 wins as an illustrative example), while preserving the current practice of drawing the top four picks. (espn.com) The third proposal — a “five‑by‑five” method — would enter the same 18 teams as the first concept but give the five worst teams equal odds for each of the top five picks, then hold a separate lottery for the remaining 13 slots and cap how far a bottom‑five club could fall (no lower than 10th in the second drawing). (espn.com) Separately, the league is proposing stronger enforcement powers for the commissioner that could include stripping or moving a team’s first‑round pick and levying multi‑million‑dollar fines, a step up from recent conduct penalties such as the Jazz’s $500,000 fine and the Pacers’ $100,000 fine earlier this season. (cbssports.com) Owners will digest the concepts with their basketball‑operations groups over the coming weeks before the May vote, and league coverage of the proposals says a change is likely to be implemented for the 2027 draft if approved. (espn.com)