Overview
- At a Board of Governors meeting, officials presented ideas to deter tanking, including limiting traded-pick protections to top four or 14-and-higher, blocking consecutive top-four selections, and locking lottery order on March 1.
- None of the proposals has been adopted or put to a vote, and the NBA is gathering input before determining next steps.
- The push comes after federal arrests tied to illegal gambling that cited misuse of injury and availability information involving Chauncey Billups, Terry Rozier and Damon Jones.
- The NBA has already tightened injury-reporting rules, requiring game-day submissions late morning to early afternoon and 15-minute public updates, which produced immediate changes in team status listings.
- League officials say the goal is to curb deliberate late-season manipulation rather than routine rebuilding, citing recent examples such as the Mavericks’ 2023 fine, Utah’s Markkanen rest penalties and the 76ers’ protected-pick outcome.