After much ado about anti-tanking measures, the NBA’s Board of Governors has approved its new actions to prevent teams purposefully bottoming out on the season.
Per ESPN’s Shama Charania on Thursday, the new anti-tanking measures include “expanding the draft lottery from 14 to 16 teams, a relegation zone where the bottom three teams get penalized with lessened chances for the No. 1 pick and flattened odds.”
Those are some aggressive moves that should at least somewhat incentivize teams not to stink out loud on purpose in the future. However, if you just stink in general, you won’t be nearly as fortunate in the offseason with the draft.
The Memphis Grizzlies were the only team to vote against the anti-tanking measures, per Charania.
Breaking: The NBA’s Board of Governors has passed new anti-tanking rules that include expanding the draft lottery from 14 to 16 teams, a relegation zone where the bottom three teams get penalized with lessened chances for the No. 1 pick and flattened odds, sources tell… pic.twitter.com/I0Fv1yIAml
— ESPN (@espn) May 28, 2026
Charania also spelled out how the new “3-2-1” lottery system will work, which starts next year and will go through at least 2029.
The “3-2-1 lottery” is named to represent the number of lottery balls per team. Teams with a bottom-three record — the relegation area — have only two lottery balls. Teams that do not qualify for the playoffs or play-in tournament in spots four through 10 receive three lottery… https://t.co/H1BYVdQGra
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 28, 2026
These changes are seismic and will promote more competition at the bottom of the NBA to not finish last in the standings. We’ll see if this all works to tamper down tanking… or if this only makes the process more confusing.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: The NBA’s new anti-tanking lottery rules, explained