NBA Explores Nuclear Anti-Tanking Reform: Bottom 3 Teams Could Lose Top Pick Eligibility

The NBA is finally done pretending tanking isn't a problem. According to Kevin O'Connor, one general manager floated what can only be described as the nuclear option: make the bottom three teams completely ineligible for the top picks. Not reduced odds. Not a wheel. Just straight up — you tank, you get nothing.

The league ultimately found that specific proposal too extreme, but the fact that it was even discussed tells you how desperate the situation has gotten. Adam Silver has made it clear that reform is coming after a season where teams have been shamelessly racing to the bottom for a historically deep 2026 draft class. The NBA is currently considering three comprehensive anti-tanking proposals that would restructure the lottery to stop incentivizing losing.

The leading idea appears to be giving the 4th-through-10th worst teams the best lottery odds instead of the bottom three. It's a less punishing version of the nuclear option — you still get rewarded for being bad, just not for being the absolute worst. The r/nba thread on this had over 1,600 comments, and fans are split. Some think it'll create a race to be the 4th-worst team instead. Others think anything is better than watching half the league throw games in March.