Tanking has become a hot issue in the NBA, as it has been a controversial discussion for many years. Teams that are not in the mix for the playoffs keep their star players on the bench in hopes of losing and improving their chances of obtaining a high-value draft pick. On Wednesday, Commissioner Adam Silver claimed that the league is going to resolve the issue soon.
According to ClutchPoints insider Brett Siegel, during the NBA Board of Governors press conference, Silver claimed the league is going to hold a meeting to potentially make changes to the tanking rule in May. If passed, the rules will be in effect for the 2026–27 season.
"NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at his NBA Board of Governors press conference that there will be a 'special meeting' in May to address and discuss the issue of tanking and potential rule changes for the 2026-27 season," Siegel said.
According to NBA insider Marc Stein, reports indicate that the meetings will discuss potential lottery reforms that could impact the upcoming offseason. It seems the 64-year-old soon-to-be commissioner wants the change to be made as soon as possible.
Stein reported, "Adam Silver says a special meeting of the Board of Governors will be called in May to vote on lottery reforms to take effect for the 2026-27 season, and ahead of this summer's upcoming draft and free agency." "'We're going to fix it ... full stop,' Silver says about addressing tanking."
While there are questions being raised about competitiveness right now, according to Siegel, Silver thinks adding two new franchises could help. The NBA is looking to address the tanking issue, and Adam Silver sees no problem with increasing the size of the league from 30 teams to 32.
"We have enough talent to field 32 teams," Silver said. "When we just did the 2-team expansion, 6% of the players were international. That's 30% now... Tanking is a confusing thing and we study it... I'm not worried about the caliber of 32 competing teams."
The NBA will likely announce the outcome of the meetings in late May. If changes are made, we could see them impact the 2026 NBA Draft.
