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NBA finalizing anti-tanking proposal — here are the sweeping changes league wants

Nypost · · 333 words · By Dylan Svoboda
open_in_new Read the original article: https://nypost.com/2026/04/28/sports/nba-finalizing-its-anti-tanking-proposal-wi…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

7 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

info Single Source 4
check_circle Corroborated 3
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“The league is pushing an expanded “3-2-1 lottery” that would increase the number of teams from 14 to 16, according to ESPN’s Shams Charania.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While evidence for claim 1 confirms Shams Charania broke news about lottery reform and anti-tanking measures, the specific '3-2-1' terminology and the increase from 14 to 16 teams are not explicitly detailed in the provided search results. Only the original claim attributes this specific detail to Shams Charania.
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web search NEUTRAL — The 2026 NBA playoffs is the ongoing postseason tournament of the National Basketball Association 's 2025–26 season. The playoffs began on April 18 and will end with the conclusion of the 2026 NBA Fin…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_NBA_playoffs
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web search NEUTRAL — Visit ESPN for NBA live scores, video highlights and latest news. Stream games on ESPN and play Fantasy Basketball.
https://www.espn.com/nba/
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web search NEUTRAL — CBS Sports has the latest NBA news, live scores, player stats, standings, fantasy games and projections on the National Basketball Association.
https://www.cbssports.com/nba/
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“The new system, which must be approved by NBA owners on May 28, is aimed at curbing tanking and would punish teams that finish with a bottom-five record.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (a news report and a Google News overview) confirm that NBA owners have a scheduled vote on May 28 regarding draft lottery reform and anti-tanking measures, as reported by Shams Charania.
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web search NEUTRAL — This much we know: The NBA owners have scheduled a vote for May 28 on steps to reform the NBA Draft Lottery and install their latest anti-tanking measures, news broken by Shams Charania of ESPN.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nba-owners-reportedly-vote…
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web search NEUTRAL — NBA Draft lottery proposals. Top news. Hoops Rumors.NBA CRACKDOWN on tanking with lottery reform, Shams Charania shares details. 6 days ago. Save for later.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
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web search NEUTRAL — In this proposal, the NBA doesn’t just disincentivize tanking—it outright punishes it. A relegation zone will force teams to try to claw out wins down the stretch to avoid having their lottery odds re…
https://www.si.com/nba/adam-silver-proposed-anti-tanking-fix…
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“teams that do not qualify for the playoffs or play-in tournament but stay out of the relegation zone (spots four through 10) would receive three lottery balls each”
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists entirely of dictionary definitions for the word 'UNDER' and contains no information regarding NBA lottery balls or team rankings.
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web search NEUTRAL — 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
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web search NEUTRAL — UNDER definition: beneath and covered by. See examples of under used in a sentence.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/under
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web search NEUTRAL — UNDER definition: 1. in or to a position below or lower than something else, often so that one thing covers the…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/under
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“The teams with the three worst records would go to the relegation zone, meaning they “would have just two lottery balls but have a floor of the 12th pick, while the rest of the 13 lottery teams could fall as far as the 16th pick.””
SINGLE SOURCE
The evidence provided for this claim consists entirely of dictionary definitions for the word 'UNDER' and contains no information regarding the NBA relegation zone or lottery ball counts.
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web search NEUTRAL — UNDER definition: 1. in or to a position below or lower than something else, often so that one thing covers the…. Learn more.
https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/under
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web search NEUTRAL — UNDER definition: beneath and covered by. See examples of under used in a sentence.
https://www.dictionary.com/browse/under
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web search NEUTRAL — 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
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“If approved, teams couldn’t win the lottery in back-to-back years or get three straight top-five picks.”
CORROBORATED
Three independent sources (Yahoo Sports, Fadeaway World, and an anonymous poll report) confirm the proposal prevents teams from winning the top pick in consecutive years and prohibits winning three consecutive top-five picks.
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web search NEUTRAL — No team is able to win three consecutive top-five picks. Teams cannot protect picks in the 12 to 15 slots.
https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nba-proposed-lottery-syste…
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web search NEUTRAL — NBA proposes draft reform to crack down on tanking epidemic.The new rules also inhibit the rewards for prolonged losing by ensuring that no team can win the top pick two years in a row or a top-five p…
https://fadeawayworld.net/new-nba-lottery-proposal-could-end…
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web search NEUTRAL — The proposal would also prevent teams from winning the No. 1 pick in consecutive years, nor could they pick in the top five in three consecutive years. There would also be a provision that prevents te…
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25425828-nba-players-cal…
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“The current system sends 14 non-playoff teams to the lottery, where the franchises with the worst three records each have a 14 percent chance of winning the No. 1 pick.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources, including Yahoo Sports and Mavs Moneyball, confirm that 14 non-playoff teams enter the lottery and the three worst records each have a 14% chance at the No. 1 pick.
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web search NEUTRAL — In this system, each non-playoff team had an equal chance to obtain the first pick.The worst non-playoff team that season would have 11 chances, out of 66, to obtain the first pick.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NBA_draft_lottery
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web search NEUTRAL — The teams that finished with the three-worst records — Washington, Indiana and Brooklyn — each have the highest odds (14%) at winning the No. 1 pick. Here are the odds for every team currently in the …
https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/2026-nba-draft-lottery-…
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web search NEUTRAL — All 14 non-playoff teams are entered into the lottery every year to decide which teams get the top four picks.The worst three teams each get a 14% chance of securing the No. 1 overall pick and the odd…
https://www.mavsmoneyball.com/general/58491/dallas-to-learn-…
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“The odds of winning the No. 1 pick decrease gradually for the other 11 teams outside the top three, from 12.5 percent for the team with the fourth-worst record to 0.7 percent for the team with the 14th-worst record.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While the general structure of the current lottery is confirmed in other claims, the specific range of 12.5% to 0.7% for the 4th through 14th teams is not explicitly detailed in the provided evidence snippets, though it aligns with the general description of odds decreasing from the top three.
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web search NEUTRAL — Detailed 2026 NBA lottery odds. View the current odds for each lottery spot to get specific picks. See the chances that a pick is traded based on position.
https://www.tankathon.com/pick_odds
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web search NEUTRAL — The new system increased the chances of the team with the worst record of drawing the first pick from 16.7 percent to 25 percent, and it decreased the chances of the team with the best record ...
https://www.nba.com/news/nba-draft-lottery-explainer
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web search NEUTRAL — The full list of odds for the 2025 NBA draft lottery is below. Only non-playoff teams have a chance at the top selection, with the league's worst teams having a higher chance at landing the top pick
https://www.si.com/nba/nba-draft-lottery-odds-every-teams-ch…
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.