NBA Explores Solutions to Tanking, Including Radical Proposal from European Economists

The league is examining "every possible remedy" to address the issue of teams intentionally losing to improve draft position.

Published on Feb. 28, 2026

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. ›

The NBA is looking to make rule changes to address the issue of tanking, where teams intentionally lose games to improve their draft position. One radical proposal comes from a group of European economists, who have developed a formula that rewards wins while still targeting the worst teams for the best lottery odds. The formula aims to disincentivize losing without fully incentivizing winning for the league's worst teams. The NBA is aware of the proposal and is considering various options, including eliminating draft pick protections between picks 4 and 14 to remove a key incentive for tanking.

Why it matters

Tanking has become a growing problem in the NBA, with an increasing number of teams purposefully losing games late in the season to improve their draft position. This not only affects the teams involved, but also makes the last six weeks of the regular season less compelling for fans to watch. The league is determined to find solutions to this issue in order to preserve the integrity and entertainment value of the NBA.

The details

The European economists' proposal involves a formula that calculates "lottery points" for each team based on their wins (W) minus a quadratic penalty for their ordinal rank among the 30 teams (R). The formula is: P = W - k(R - c)^2, where k and c are adjustable parameters that the league can use to fine-tune the incentives. This system rewards wins while still targeting the worst teams for the best lottery odds, making it harder for teams to simply tank. The league is also considering eliminating draft pick protections between picks 4 and 14, which have been a key driver of tanking in recent years.

  • The NBA plans to implement rule changes to address tanking ahead of the 2026-27 season.
  • The paper outlining the European economists' proposal is expected to be published in the coming weeks.

The players

Adam Silver

The commissioner of the NBA who has stated the league is examining "every possible remedy" to address tanking.

Kenneth Colombe

A researcher at the University of Bonn and one of the authors of the paper proposing the performance-weighted allocation mechanism for the NBA draft lottery.

Got photos? Submit your photos here. ›

What they’re saying

“The fundamental theory behind the draft is to help your worst-performing teams restock and be able to compete. The issue is, if teams are manipulating their performance in order to get higher draft picks, even in a lottery, then the question becomes ... are they really the worst performing teams?”

— Adam Silver, NBA Commissioner (nytimes.com)

“The genius of this, mathematically, is that it simultaneously rewards wins but also a team's position in the 'negative standings'.”

— John Hollinger, Author (nytimes.com)

What’s next

The NBA plans to carefully analyze the European economists' proposal and test it against past seasons to determine the optimal values for the adjustable parameters 'k' and 'c'. The league will also consider other potential solutions, such as eliminating draft pick protections between picks 4 and 14, as it aims to implement rule changes ahead of the 2026-27 season.

The takeaway

The NBA's efforts to address tanking highlight the league's commitment to preserving the integrity and entertainment value of the game. While finding the right solution is challenging, the league's willingness to explore radical ideas like the European economists' proposal demonstrates its determination to tackle this issue and maintain a level playing field for all teams.