The NBA appears to face a massive tanking problem, and most of the possible remedies that have floated around could one day affect the teams at the bottom of the standings. Fortunately for the Charlotte Hornets, they have already transitioned into contending for a postseason spot — and thus could benefit from potential draft lottery reform — and they are no longer part of the supposed epidemic.
Are teams blatantly tanking?
The past weeks may have given the league office and basketball purists a source of frustration, with a few franchises seemingly throwing games in order to tally more losses and increase their odds of securing a high spot in the draft order this summer.
One of the teams in question is the Utah Jazz, whose decision to sit out stars Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of winnable games two contests in a row caught the attention of many people around the NBA. The Jazz lost by three points to the Orlando Magic before hilariously defeating the Miami Heat despite using the now-infamous tactic.
As a result of their actions that purportedly “compromise the integrity of our games,” the Jazz were fined $500,000 by the league. For their part, they have denied intentionally trying to lose, attributing Markkanen’s absence in the fourth period to the star being under a minutes restriction. Well, the Hornets have also had to deal with LaMelo Ball’s limited playing time, but they have tried their hardest to make sure he can step foot onto the court during fourth quarters.
Similar to Utah’s case, the Indiana Pacers received a $100,000 for violating the league’s player participation policy by sitting out Pascal Siakam and two other players when they were apparently healthy enough to play, incidentally, against the Jazz.
Other squads have also been accused of tanking, including the Washington Wizards, whose sights are already set on the 2026-27 campaign, when Anthony Davis and Trae Young are hopefully healthy, and the Sacramento Kings.
Coming up with anti-tanking solutions
The issue has been so egregious that the league office, led by Adam Silver, and some NBA owners have begun discussing ways to curb tanking. It has been reported that a tournament (Really, another one?) involving lottery teams to determine draft order has been brought up.
Shams says having a tournament among lottery teams- to determine draft order - has been discussed. If that happens, any team that intentionally tries to win a play in game would be committing franchise malfeasance. Play Burnie in the 9-10 elimination game if you need to.
— Barry Jackson (@flasportsbuzz) February 13, 2026
Some proposals from people on the outside looking in have ranged from reasonable to radical, including further flattening the odds in the draft lottery, removing draft protections, unlinking regular-season record to draft lottery odds, and even doing away with the draft altogether. Each of them, though, has inherent complications that would also require additional problem-solving.
It’s unclear what changes are on the horizon, but it is refreshing to know that Charlotte is not impacted that much, considering that it might not be part of the draft lottery this year. It could even gain from some future amendment by being rewarded with a high spot in the draft order despite already being in playoff contention.
And by the way, the Hornets are proof that tanking shouldn’t always be in a struggling team's best interest. Despite unofficially trying to drop in the standings in the past seasons, it didn’t pay off with a first overall pick in the Victor Wembanyama and Cooper Flagg sweepstakes. A silver lining, though, was that shrewd draft decisions netted them Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel.