Jason McIntyre dives into whether the NBA's anti-tanking efforts will slow down the act or not.

Adam Silver has finally decided to do something about the tanking epidemic he spent a decade ignoring.

ZERO BS. JUST DAKICH. TAKE THE DON'T @ ME PODCAST ON THE ROAD. DOWNLOAD NOW!

The NBA is reportedly moving toward a "3-2-1 Lottery" system that is about as convoluted as a government stimulus package.

French basketball player Victor Wembanyama shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being selected by the San Antonio Spurs during the NBA Draft at Barclays Center in New York City on June 22, 2023. (Timothy A. Clary/AFP)

Silver is effectively trying to legislate effort because his previous incentives rewarded teams for being dumpster fires.

EX-NBA COACH RICK PITINO FLOATS IDEA TO HELP RATINGS

The proposal expands the lottery from 14 teams to 16 and creates a de facto relegation zone for the three worst teams in the league.

In a classic Silver move, those bottom dwellers are actually penalized. They receive fewer lottery balls than teams that are merely below average.

Dylan Harper shakes hands with NBA commissioner Adam Silver after being drafted second overall by the San Antonio Spurs during the first round of the 2025 NBA Draft at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, on June 25, 2025. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

The logic here is peak modern NBA, and the league wants to make being slightly below average more rewarding than being truly terrible.

Teams in the middle of the lottery standings would receive the most favorable odds, while the worst teams get reduced chances at the top pick.

LUKA DONCIC TRADE TO LAKERS COULDN'T BE VETOED, NBA COMMISH SAYS

So the message is simple. Stop trying to be awful and aim for mediocrity instead.

Silver is essentially turning the draft lottery into a system where the biggest losers do not get the biggest rewards.

The worst teams would also have a floor, meaning they could not fall past roughly the 12th pick. Even that safety net shows how carefully the league is trying to balance discouraging tanking without completely burying bad teams.

The proposal also includes a ban on winning the top pick in consecutive years and prevents any team from landing a top-five pick three years in a row. It only took years of watching "the process" and other blatant tanking jobs to realize that rewarding incompetence might be bad for the brand.

There is even a rule targeting pick protections.

Teams would no longer be allowed to protect picks in the 12 to 15 range. This is designed to stop late-season tanking aimed at keeping a mid-round selection.

Silver spent years acting like tanking was a minor nuisance. He is the guy who let the termites eat the house for a decade.

The "3-2-1" plan is a clear attempt to fix a competitive problem that developed on his watch.

It might reduce outright tanking, but it also risks turning the lottery into something fans need a chart to understand.

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP

NBA Commissioner Adam Silver speaks during a press conference at the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend at Intuit Dome in Inglewood, Calif., on Feb. 14, 2026. (Ryan Sirius Sun/Getty Images)

Either way, the NBA is finally admitting the system it built was broken.

Send us your thoughts: alejandro.avila@outkick.com / Follow along on X: @alejandroaveela 

Alejandro Avila is a longtime writer at OutKick, living in Southern California. 

Get all the stories you need-to-know from the most powerful name in news delivered first thing every morning to your inbox

Subscribed

You've successfully subscribed to this newsletter!