Tanking has long been a problem in the NBA, but it’s gotten out of control in the 2025-26 season, especially after the Feb. 5 trade deadline ahead of a loaded 2026 NBA Draft class. The combination of tanking and load management that features NBA teams frequently sitting stars has made for a regular-season product that has become unwatchable for many (former) fans.
The NBA recently fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 and the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for sitting healthy players in perceived tanking efforts, but such fines are unlikely to stop non-title-contenders from doing whatever they can to improve draft lottery odds and potentially land a future superstar in a league that is all about finding star power. ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins recently said that he would fine the Jazz and Pacers $5 million apiece for tanking, and fellow ESPN analyst and former NBA executive Bobby Marks was told by an NBA franchise that they would “basically write a blank check if they had the opportunity to pick in the top three of this year’s draft.”
NBA commissioner Adam Silver met with the media for his annual press conference during All-Star Saturday (and had an opening statement detailing the impact of AI on future broadcasts), and it was no surprise that the first question he received was about tanking.
Silver offered a four-plus-minute response, in which he admitted that tanking is “worse this year than recent memory”
“Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory? Yes, is my view, which is what led to those fines,” Silver said. “And not just those fines, but to my statement that we’re going to be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams’ behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice.”
“I think the point about this year, when you look at the totality of the circumstances, I’m paying attention to what’s happening, and the perception is that you have a very deep draft class this year… [a perception] that the next two draft classes aren’t as good,” Silver added. “There’s no doubt that’s affecting the behavior of our teams.”
Silver addressed the subject again later in the press conference after a question from longtime NBA reporter David Aldridge.
“We’ve got to look at some fresh thinking here,” Silver said. “What we’re doing, what we’re seeing right now, is not working. There’s no question about it. And yes, is there more than I can do? Have I attempted not only to respond to behavior we’ve seen, but send a clear message that we’re going to be scrutinizing everything we see going forward? Absolutely. But I don’t think that’s the way to manage this system long term, of I know it when I see it, or people in the league office. It would lead to very unhealthy relationships between us and our teams.”
“If I could follow up, is there any talk of taking draft picks away from teams that do this, as opposed to fining them?” Aldridge asked.
“There is talk about every possible remedy now to stop this behavior,” Silver responded.
Bill Simmons recently questioned whether Silver is the right person to lead the NBA, saying that Silver “doesn’t seem interested in actually fixing real problems that everybody can see.”
And Dan Patrick said that the NBA has to “win [him] back” after being a fan for 60 years.
“Is Trae Young playing? This is a guy who was averaging 27 and 10. I don’t know. After a while, if they’re not playing, I’m not watching. And you’ve got to win me back,” Patrick said. “And I’m an NBA fan for 60 years, but after a while, you’re like, ‘Who’s playing?’
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at The Comeback and Awful Announcing.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@thecomeback.com.