NBA anti-tanking proposal draws strong reaction, support

The NBA's new anti-tanking plan has drawn mixed reactions from league pundits about the proposal's rules.

ESPN's Shams Charania broke the news on April 28 about the proposal, referred to as the ''3-2-1 lottery," sent to all 30 teams' general managers.

The plan is meant to flatten draft odds, add more teams to the lottery and stop teams from intentionally losing during the regular season by decreasing the odds of landing the No. 1 pick for the bottom three teams.

Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) defends Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

Phoenix Suns vs Oklahoma City Thunder: Game 4 of NBA playoffs

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) lays the ball up against the Phoenix Suns during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) shoots the ball over Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) fights for the ball with Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

Fans cheer from the stands as the Phoenix Suns take on the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

Fans cheer from the stands as the Phoenix Suns take on the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks yells out to the referees as they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) is introduced before tipoff against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

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See Phoenix Suns take on Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA Playoffs Game 4

Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) defends Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

Phoenix Suns vs Oklahoma City Thunder: Game 4 of NBA playoffs

1 / 8

See Phoenix Suns take on Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA Playoffs Game 4

Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) defends Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

Phoenix Suns vs Oklahoma City Thunder: Game 4 of NBA playoffs

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See Phoenix Suns take on Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA Playoffs Game 4

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) lays the ball up against the Phoenix Suns during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

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See Phoenix Suns take on Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA Playoffs Game 4

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Ajay Mitchell (25) shoots the ball over Phoenix Suns guard Collin Gillespie (12) during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

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See Phoenix Suns take on Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA Playoffs Game 4

Phoenix Suns forward Oso Ighodaro (11) fights for the ball with Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

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See Phoenix Suns take on Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA Playoffs Game 4

Fans cheer from the stands as the Phoenix Suns take on the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

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See Phoenix Suns take on Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA Playoffs Game 4

Fans cheer from the stands as the Phoenix Suns take on the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

7 / 8

See Phoenix Suns take on Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA Playoffs Game 4

Phoenix Suns forward Dillon Brooks yells out to the referees as they take on the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

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See Phoenix Suns take on Oklahoma City Thunder in NBA Playoffs Game 4

Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker (1) is introduced before tipoff against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 4 of their playoff series at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on April 27, 2026.

"We should have a system where you should hate to lose," NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a recent Competition Committee call, per Charania. "It shouldn't be a badge of honor. Losing should be uncomfortable."

Commissioner of the NBA Adam Silver delivers a speech ahead of the NBA preseason games, at the Venetian Arena in Macau on Oct. 9, 2025. The NBA returns to the lucrative China market this week with two preseason games following a six-year absence after a team official tweeted his support for pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. The Brooklyn Nets and the Phoenix Suns will play sell-out games on Oct. 10 and 12 in Macau, a special administrative region of China close to Hong Kong.

Among the changes, the draft lottery would expand from 14 to 16 teams and there will be 37 lottery balls allocated to the 16. The bottom three in the league standings will have a 5.4% chance to get the No. 1 pick. Team's No. 4-10 would have an 8.1% chance. The 11th to 14th teams would have a 5.4% chance. Each conference's No. 9-10 teams receive two balls each and the losers of the No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in tournament games would receive one each.

A "relegation zone" for the bottom three teams in the league standings would penalize those teams with fewer lottery balls for the No. 1 pick, to discourage tanking, a 5.4% chance for each.

In addition, no team could win the No. 1 pick in consecutive years or win three consecutive top-five picks, among other details. The plan would start in the 2027 draft, then a sunset provision or trial period ending in 2029 with re-evaluation among the board of governors.

Check out how several NBA media members reacted to the new anti-tanking draft proposal:

Yahoo Sports' Kevin O'Connor supports plan

"I am all the way in on the draft relegation zone. It's time. The league has spent 20 years subsidizing the race to the bottom, and the case for cutting that subsidy is overwhelming,'' he said.

"The standard objection is that draft relegation makes it harder for the league's worst teams to climb out of a rebuild. I don't buy it. In recent years, plenty of organizations with functional front offices have fallen into the lottery and climbed back out in a hurry. The teams that don't climb back out — the ones that stay bad year after year — generally have the same problem, and it isn't bad luck. It's the people running the teams. Enabling horrible front offices by handing them higher odds would return the league to even more extreme levels of tanking."

CBS Sports' Sam Quinn skeptically wrote on X:

"What I would like to know is what, if anything, the NBA plans to do to help organically bad teams improve in non-draft related ways. Free agency is dead and that's jacked up the price on veteran trades. How do you balance that reality with all of this moralizing over tanking?"

Sporting News' Stephen Noh on why NBA's anti-tanking draft plan will fail:

"The biggest issue with the proposed changes are that they are far too punitive for the bad teams. It is going to be impossible for them to dig themselves out of the bottom. On the flip side, the system will reward some teams that are already in pretty good shape."

ESPN's NBA draft expert Jeremy Woo wrote:

"The stakes of the 2026 draft are even higher for current bad teams when you factor in this reform. Still lots of time for the 27 and 28 drafts to evolve, but the lack of obvious forthcoming star power means this year might be your best real crack at one before tanking gets harder."

Sports Illustrated' Chris Mannix writes:

"Good news, right? Tanking had become the scourge of the NBA, with nearly a third of the teams showing no interest in winning games after the All-Star break. In this proposal, the NBA doesn’t just disincentivize tanking—it outright punishes it. A relegation zone will force teams to try to claw out wins down the stretch to avoid having their lottery odds reduced. That will (theoretically) significantly increase the quality of play in the final weeks (or months) of the regular season.

"Here’s the thing, though: Not every bad team is a tanker. Sometimes bad teams are just … bad."

Mark Cuban had a lengthy take on X

Cuban said in part: ''When you flatten the odds, the number of trades will explode. It was impossible to know who would win the tankathon in the off season, and the leading tankers aren’t trading their picks at the deadline.''

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: NBA media react to new '3-2-1' anti-tanking draft lottery plan