The NBA is preparing to implement anti-tanking measures for the 2026-27 season, Commissioner Adam Silver told general managers during a league meeting Thursday. The league office has been intensifying discussions with stakeholders about combatting tanking, which Silver described as worse this year than in recent memory. Sources indicate the NBA is considering multiple proposals to address the issue.

Among the concepts discussed are limiting first-round draft pick protections to top-four or top-14-plus selections, freezing lottery odds at the trade deadline, and preventing teams from picking in the top four in consecutive years. Other proposals include barring teams from top-four picks after making conference finals, allocating lottery odds based on two-year records, extending the lottery to all play-in teams, and flattening odds for all lottery teams. The league fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 and Indiana Pacers $100,000 last week for sitting healthy players.

Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia called tanking "much worse than any prop bet scandal" in a social media post earlier Thursday. Senior adviser Mike Krzyzewski urged a prompt and tasteful response to the problem during the meeting. With these proposed changes, the NBA aims to preserve competitive integrity and discourage teams from deliberately losing games to improve draft positioning.