After Jazz, Pacers Fined, NBA's Next Move to Stop Tanking Could Be Most Drastic Yet

On the eve of the 2026 NBA All-Star Weekend in Los Angeles, the league is reportedly weighing its boldest anti-tanking idea yet: a tournament among lottery teams to decide the draft order. The concept surfaced after the NBA fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 and the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for blatantly tanking—benching healthy stars in winnable games to boost their lottery odds. ESPN’s Shams Charania has reported there are ongoing behind-the-scenes meetings among owners, executives, and players to address what many inside the league now openly call a "tanking epidemic." With multiple teams losing aggressively in pursuit of a loaded 2026 draft class featuring Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybantsa, and Cameron Boozer, the NBA is considering its most dramatic overhaul of the lottery system since it was created.

Jazz Fined $500K, Pacers $100K for 'Overt' Tanking Before All-Star Break

The league’s message on tanking came through loud and clear on Wednesday. The NBA came down hard on two franchises this week. Utah was hit with a $500,000 fine, and Indiana was docked $100,000 for what NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called "overt behavior" that "undermines the foundation of NBA competition." In other words, the league felt both clubs were tanking in plain sight.

In its official explanation, the league said the Jazz pulled Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. before the fourth quarter of tight games against the Orlando Magic on Feb. 7 and the Miami Heat on Feb. 9, "even though these players were otherwise able to continue to play and the outcomes of the games were thereafter in doubt." The numbers back that up: Utah entered the fourth up 94–87 on Orlando and still lost 120–117. Two nights later, the Jazz led Miami 85–82 heading into the final period and somehow escaped with a 115–111 win even after shelving their stars.

Indiana’s penalty was tied to a different issue: the league’s Player Participation Policy. During a Feb. 3 matchup with Utah, the Pacers ran afoul of that policy, prompting an investigation. After reviewing the case—including an assessment from an independent physician—the NBA concluded that Pascal Siakam and two other starters "could have played under the medical standard in the Policy, including by playing reduced minutes."

Not everyone took the ruling quietly. Jazz owner Ryan Smith jumped on social media almost immediately, pairing an eyeroll emoji with: "Agree to disagree… Also, we won the game in Miami and got fined? That makes sense…"

???? agree to disagree … Also, we won the game in Miami and got fined? That makes sense … https://t.co/sHQrggB2Xa

— Ryan Smith (@RyanQualtrics) February 13, 2026

Silver didn’t exactly back off, though. His statement underscored that the league is done looking the other way: "We will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games."

Tournament Among Lottery Teams and Other Radical Proposals Under Discussion

Those fines are just the most visible part of a larger effort to clean up how teams handle losing. As ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on NBA Today, league stakeholders have been in serious talks since November and December of 2025, "in the wake of the gambling scandals that happened in the NBA." This was a nod to allegations of reported insider betting involving Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former player Damon Jones.

Among those conversations, one idea has drawn the most attention: a full-on tournament for lottery teams to determine draft order.

In that setup, traditional lottery odds would disappear. Instead of bottoming out to chase ping-pong balls, non-playoff teams would have to actually win games to earn the No. 1 pick. While the initial concept was reportedly referenced by Charania, via Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald, the longtime NBA insider revealed that a Board of Governors meeting in December 2025 brought more detailed pitches on three specific anti-tanking proposals.

Those three proposed anti-tanking measures are significant. Any of the options listed below could drastically alter the mindset of teams attempting to navigate for a higher pick, in differing ways.

• Limiting pick protections to either the top four or 14 and higher.
• The possibility of teams no longer being allowed to draft in the top four two years in a row.
• Lottery positions locking after March 1, instead of following the NBA regular season.

Limiting pick protections to either top-four or 14-and-higher would wipe out mid-lottery protections that currently incentivize teams to finish in that 5th–13th-worst range. With the 2026 NBA Draft considered one of the strongest freshman classes in recent history, the pressure to act is high, though any changes would still need Board of Governors approval and wouldn’t go into effect until at least the 2027 draft.

It's also worth noting that there could be issues with a lottery-focused tournament as teams vie for the No. 1 pick. This may come in the form of play-in games during the NBA playoffs as teams prepare for a run at the NBA Finals. As Jackson correctly noted, teams specifically in the 9-10 seed play-in game could be rewarded with a loss by becoming one of the top teams in a hypothetical lottery tournament.

While NBA teams may still jockey for position ahead of the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, it became apparent on Thursday, February 12, that Silver and the league are keeping a close eye on how those lottery-bound teams approach the end of the season.

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