NBA Board of Governors passes new anti-tanking draft rules

Nypost · May 28, 2026 · 394 words · By Ryan Giancola

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What to know about NBA Board of Governors passes new anti-tanking draft rules

The NBA Board of Governors has instituted new anti-tanking measures.

Claims checked 15

Techniques found 0

Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center80%

Right20%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

The NBA Board of Governors has instituted new anti-tanking measures.

Why it matters

The body voted in favor of enacting the new 3-2-1 rule, which will completely change the NBA draft lottery, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.

Common ground

The biggest draw of the new system is that the three worst teams in the NBA will now enter the “Relegation Zone.” This zone has lower odds of obtaining the No.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

Follow-up questions

What concrete event or decision sits underneath the headline: NBA Board of Governors passes new anti-tanking draft rules?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that The next seven teams that missed the playoffs will receive three lottery balls?
What should readers watch for in the next update to know whether the story is changing?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/05/28/sports/nba-board-of-governors-passes-new-anti-tank…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 15 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 5

schedule Pending 5

info Single Source 2

help Insufficient Evidence 2

verified Verified By Reference 1

info

Claim 1: “The next seven teams that missed the playoffs will receive three lottery balls.”

SINGLE SOURCE

While the general system is discussed, the specific detail that the 'next seven teams' receive 'three lottery balls' is not explicitly confirmed in the provided evidence snippets.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — After the 2019 draft, the NBA changed the lottery odds (the bottom three teams will all have an equal 14% chance of winning the top pick) and increased the ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_draft_lottery

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web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 ... Under the new plan, the teams that finish with the three worst records cannot fall below the No. 12 pick. But the best odds of winning No. 1 ...
https://abcnews.com/Sports/wireStory/nbas-board-governors-pa…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 28, 2026 ... The 3 teams with the worst records will have an equal 14% chance of getting the top pick. There will also be 4 teams who will be put into the ...
https://www.facebook.com/ThePostStar/posts/by-a-reported-29-…

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Claim 2: “The new system gives all 16 teams a chance to win the first overall pick.”

CORROBORATED

The expansion to 16 teams is corroborated, and the nature of the lottery system described in the search results implies all participating teams have a chance at the pick.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sixteen or 16 may refer to: 16 (number), the natural number following 15 and preceding 17 one of the years 16 BC, AD 16, 1916, 2016
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — 16:9 or sixteen-nine is an aspect ratio with a width of 16 units and height of 9 units. Once seen as an exotic aspect ratio, since 1999, it has become the most common aspect ratio for televisions and …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/16:9_aspect_ratio

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The sixteenth season of RuPaul's Drag Race premiered on January 5, 2024. The reality competition series, broadcast on MTV in the United States, showcases fourteen drag queens competing for the title o…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RuPaul's_Drag_Race_season_16

+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 3: “the two teams that lose in the No. 7-8 play-in games will get one lottery ball.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the specific ball count for teams losing the 7-8 play-in games.

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Claim 4: “The NBA Board of Governors has instituted new anti-tanking measures.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web sources (ESPN, and a breaking news report via Charania) confirm that the NBA Board of Governors passed new anti-tanking rules.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Clayton Ike Bennett (born November 14, 1959) is an American businessman and chairman of the Professional Basketball Club LLC, the ownership group of the Oklahoma City Thunder, an NBA franchise formerl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clay_Bennett_(businessman)

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This article is a list of principal owners of National Basketball Association teams. The NBA requires a change in "controlling ownership" to be approved by the NBA Board of Governors, composed of one …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_NBA_team_owners

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The NBA draft lottery is an annual event held by the National Basketball Association (NBA), in which the teams who had missed the playoffs the previous year participate in a lottery process to determi…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_draft_lottery

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 5: “This new system will take place starting with the 2027 lottery.”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While sources mention new rules starting 'next year' or in 2026, there is no specific evidence in the provided text explicitly confirming the '2027 lottery' as the start date for this specific system.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2025 NBA draft was the 79th edition of the National Basketball Association's (NBA) annual draft. Like the 2024 draft, this draft took place over two nights. The draft consisted of 59 picks, rather…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2025_NBA_draft

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026 NBA draft will be the 80th edition of the National Basketball Association's annual draft. This will be the first draft since 2021 with 60 picks, as no teams have forfeited second-round draft …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_NBA_draft

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2026–27 NBA season is the upcoming 81st season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season is expected to begin in October 2026, and end in April 2027. The fourth edition of t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026–27_NBA_season

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 6: “The NBA fined the Jazz $500,000 for pulling their starters in the fourth quarter during two regular season road games.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 7: “The four teams that received the Nos. 9 and 10 seeds in the play-in games will receive two lottery balls.”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found in the provided search results to support or refute the specific ball count for 9th and 10th seed play-in teams.

schedule

Claim 8: “The issue of tanking was the reason the lottery was created in the first place, back in 1985.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 9: “Commissioner Adam Silver has wanted changes to the way the lottery works since at least March, as he discussed them with the board at a meeting.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 10: “The change will also expand the lottery to 16 teams and flatten odds.”

CORROBORATED

The expansion of the lottery from 14 to 16 teams is explicitly mentioned in multiple web search results regarding the new anti-tanking rules.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 2015–16 NBA season was the 70th season of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The regular season began on October 27, 2015, at the United Center, home of the Chicago Bulls, with their game …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015–16_NBA_season

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — NBA Live 16 is a basketball simulation video game developed by EA Tiburon and published by EA Sports released for the PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on September 29, 2015, in North America, simultaneousl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_Live_16

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Basketball_Associatio…

+ 3 more evidence sources

info

Claim 11: “the three worst teams in the NBA will now enter the “Relegation Zone.” This zone has lower odds of obtaining the No. 1 overall pick.”

SINGLE SOURCE

The specific term 'Relegation Zone' and the detail about lower odds for the worst teams are mentioned in an Instagram post from April 2026, but not corroborated by the major news outlets provided in the evidence.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — 4 days ago · The meaning of UNDER is in or into a position below or beneath something. How to use under in a sentence.
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/under

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Under Armour builds game-changing sportswear, athletic shirts, shoes and more. FREE SHIPPING available and FREE returns on workout clothes, shoes, and gear.
https://www.underarmour.com/en-us/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Under- is a prefix meaning “under” and is used in a variety of senses, including "below or beneath," "inferior," or " lesser." It is often used in a variety of everyday terms.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/under

schedule

Claim 12: “In 2023, the Mavericks were fined $750,000 for “conduct detrimental to the league” after sitting key players in an attempt to protect their first-round draft pick.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 13: “The body voted in favor of enacting the new 3-2-1 rule, which will completely change the NBA draft lottery, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.”

CORROBORATED

Multiple sources, including ESPN and other news reports from May 2026, confirm the NBA voted to approve the '3-2-1 lottery' system to curb tanking.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 14: “The three worst teams will receive two balls, but there is no way they will fall past the 12th pick.”

CORROBORATED

Two separate sources (Instagram and a May 29, 2026 web result) explicitly state that the three worst teams cannot receive a pick lower than 12th.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — The NBA draft lottery is an annual event held by the National Basketball Association (NBA), in which the teams who had missed the playoffs the previous year ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_draft_lottery

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Apr 28, 2026 ... NBA PASSES NEW ANTI-TANKING RULES: 16 TEAMS NOW ENTER THE DRAFT LOTTERY, THE WORST 3 TEAMS GET LOWER ODDS FOR THE NO. 1 PICK, AND DRAFT ODDS ...
https://www.instagram.com/p/DXsO_EYCfKw/?hl=en

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — May 29, 2026 ... Teams that finish with one of the three worst records can't receive a pick lower than 12th. ... 10-seed teams will each receive two balls (5.4% ...
https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/the-nbas-3-2-1-lottery-…

schedule

Claim 15: “The 3-2-1 rule would be used until 2029.”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.