{"id":2572214,"date":"2026-02-21T10:04:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-21T15:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/too-little-too-late-nba-aims-to-address-one-of-the-biggest-problems-in-the-league\/"},"modified":"2026-02-21T10:08:46","modified_gmt":"2026-02-21T15:08:46","slug":"too-little-too-late-nba-aims-to-address-one-of-the-biggest-problems-in-the-league","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/too-little-too-late-nba-aims-to-address-one-of-the-biggest-problems-in-the-league\/","title":{"rendered":"Too Little, Too Late? NBA Aims to Address One of the Biggest Problems in the League"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftoo-little-too-late-nba-aims-to-address-one-of-the-biggest-problems-in-the-league%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2572214&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The piece argues that the NBA faces several broad criticisms\u2014too many three-pointers, lax defense, a chaotic All-star weekend, heavy social-justice messaging, and growing ties too gambling\u2014that together have left fans less engaged despite lucrative TV deals. A central concern is tanking: teams allegedly losing on purpose to improve their draft position through a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/destroyed-in-the-name-of-wokeness-sf-forces-top-high-school-to-eliminate-merit-based-admissions\/\" title=\"\u2018Destroyed In The Name Of Wokeness\u2019: SF Forces Top High School To Eliminate Merit-Based Admissions\">lottery system<\/a>, which can prolong poor performance if worse records don\u2019t guarantee the best picks. This issue is intensified by the league\u2019s proximity to sports gambling interests and has led to high-profile cases like teams benching stars to throw games. The article notes that ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania reported discussions of drastic changes to curb tanking, such as protecting top picks and altering lottery odds, but the proposed fixes sparked strong online backlash about league integrity. fans, in particular, find the product unwatchable when teams don\u2019t play their best players, even as the NBA remains financially healthy. league officials appear to be considering significant tweaks to restore competitiveness and appeal, while critics argue that the problem reflects deeper structural issues within the sport.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>Ask any NBA fan what they think the league&rsquo;s biggest problems are, and you&rsquo;ll likely hear a lot of the same things.<\/p>\n<p>There are too many three-pointers. Nobody plays (or is allowed to play) defense anymore. The All Star weekend has become an unmitigated mess. The league&rsquo;s become overrun with social justice sloganeering and pandering. The NBA and its partners are too deeply in bed with sports gambling sites.<\/p>\n<p>While individual mileage may vary on each of those issues, there&rsquo;s no doubt that the combination of them has put the NBA in an awkward position.<\/p>\n<p>The league&rsquo;s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/vince-mcmahon-to-step-down-during-wwe-misconduct-probe\/\" title=\"Vince McMahon to Step Down During WWE Misconduct Probe\">television deals<\/a> may be numerous and <em>rich<\/em>, but fandom and popularity are as middling as they&rsquo;ve ever been for the NBA.<\/p>\n<p>And a big reason for that is the league putting out an unwatchable product on many nights.<\/p>\n<p> <script type=\"text\/javascript\"> \t\t\tif ( getCookie( \"ff_subbed\" ) ) { \t\t\t\tdocument.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\").remove() \t\t\t} else { \t\t\t\tdocument.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\", function() { \t\t\t\t\tfunction loadAnyclip() { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst container=document.getElementById(\"anyclipvideo\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!container) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst script=document.createElement(\"script\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.src=\"https:\/\/player.anyclip.com\/anyclip-widget\/lre-widget\/prod\/v1\/src\/lre.js\"; \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"pubname\", \"westernjournalcom\"); \t\t\t\t\t\tscript.setAttribute(\"widgetname\", \"001w000001jULVcAAO_M12924\");  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ append inside the container so player shows in correct spot \t\t\t\t\t\tcontainer.appendChild(script); \t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\tfunction findPreviousParagraph(selector, x) { \t\t\t\t\t\tconst targetElement=document.querySelector(selector); \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!targetElement) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Target element not found.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Get all <\/p>\n<p> elements in order as they appear in the document \t\t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphs=Array.from(document.querySelectorAll(\"p\"));  \t\t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the index of the last <\/p>\n<p> before the target element \t\t\t\t\t\tlet targetIndex=paragraphs.findIndex(p=> p.compareDocumentPosition(targetElement) & Node.DOCUMENT_POSITION_PRECEDING);  \t\t\t\t\t\tif (targetIndex===-1 || targetIndex <x) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.warn(\"Not enough paragraphs before the target element.\"); \t\t\t\t\t\t\treturn null; \t\t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\treturn paragraphs[targetIndex - x]; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Set up IntersectionObserver \t\t\t\t\tfunction observeElement(element) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif (!element) return;  \t\t\t\t\t\tconst observer=new IntersectionObserver( \t\t\t\t\t\t\t(entries)=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tentries.forEach(entry=> { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tif (entry.isIntersecting) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log(\"Paragraph is now visible:\", entry.target.textContent.trim()); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tloadAnyclip(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.disconnect(); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t\t\t\t}, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t{ threshold: 0.5 } \/\/ Adjust threshold as needed \t\t\t\t\t\t);  \t\t\t\t\t\tobserver.observe(element); \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\t\/\/ Find the 1st paragraph before #anyclipvideo and observe it \t\t\t\t\tlet paragraphToObserve=findPreviousParagraph(\"#anyclipvideo\", 2); \t\t\t\t\tobserveElement(paragraphToObserve); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> <\/p>\n<p>The underlying cause of that? Tanking &mdash; which may very well be the&nbsp;<em>biggest&nbsp;<\/em>problem the NBA currently has.<\/p>\n<p>For the non-sportsball fans, &ldquo;tanking&rdquo; in a sport is the act of a team intentionally sabotaging its chances of winning (read: intentionally trying to lose) to better their draft position.<\/p>\n<p>(And yes, this problem is exacerbated due to the NBA&rsquo;s proximity to sports gambling platforms.)<\/p>\n<p>This is a uniquely NBA problem because of the way it handles its draft. Unlike, say, the NFL, where the worst record gets the best pick, the second worst record gets the second-best pick, and so on, the NBA implements something that&rsquo;s known as a &ldquo;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-megadonors-son-launches-senate-campaign\/\" title=\"Dem Megadonor\u2019s Son Launches Senate Campaign\">draft lottery<\/a>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>In short, every non-playoff team in the league is put into a &ldquo;lottery,&rdquo; which determines draft order. While the worst records theoretically have the best odds to get the best picks, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/completely-rigged-furious-fans-revolt-nba-boycott-chatter-grows\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">that doesn&rsquo;t always happen<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>That could leave a team tanking for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/as-the-waltons-turns-50-here-are-10-must-see-episodes-to-watch-with-your-family\/\" title=\"As \u2018The Waltons\u2019 Turns 50, Here Are 10 Must-See Episodes To Watch With Your Family\">multiple seasons<\/a> as they continually miss out on the premium draft picks.<\/p>\n<p>The problem for the NBA is that there are&nbsp;<em>so&nbsp;<\/em>many teams who aren&rsquo;t currently trying to win games (The Utah Jazz, for instance, were recently fined $500,000 for intentionally benching its best players in a clear bid to throw the game) &mdash; and the league is considering some drastic steps to address this festering issue.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN&rsquo;s NBA reporter, Shams Charania, reported Thursday that the league is considering some drastic changes to dissuade tanking.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Multiple sources with knowledge of Thursday&rsquo;s GM meeting as well as a late January Competition Committee meeting told ESPN that the following concepts have been discussed to curb tanking:<\/p>\n<p>&bull;First-round picks can be protected only top-4 or top-14+<br \/> &bull;Lottery odds freeze at the&hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Vk2n1cSzde\">https:\/\/t.co\/Vk2n1cSzde<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShamsCharania\/status\/2024603693673271697?\">February 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Potential fixes include not allowing a team to pick in the top four in back-to-back years, basing lottery odds on two-year records instead of just a season, and simply flattening lottery odds for every non-playoff team.<\/p>\n<p>These proposals did not go over well on social media, if Charania&rsquo;s responses are anything to go by.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-conversation=\"none\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">If you have to do all this to stop teams from tanking &ndash; your league is broken.<\/p>\n<p>The NBA has no integrity.<\/p>\n<p>&mdash; The Art of Player Props (@LukaOhtani) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LukaOhtani\/status\/2024606031645659457?\">February 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If you have to do all this to stop teams from tanking &ndash; your league is broken,&rdquo; one user fired back at Charania. &ldquo;The NBA has no integrity.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>While tanking has always been a part of sports, it usually involves a batch of late games &mdash; not half the season.<\/p>\n<p>For fans, this is understandably frustrating. You&rsquo;re paying your hard-earned money to go watch your tanking basketball team not deploy its best players or, worse yet, playing its worst players on purpose. That&rsquo;s not the sort of product you&rsquo;re clamoring to pay again for.<\/p>\n<p>Again, financially, the NBA seems to be doing just fine. Its <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >multiple billion-dollar deals<\/a> with the likes of ESPN and Amazon Prime has lined the league&rsquo;s pockets.<\/p>\n<p>But in terms of the on-court product? Not only are teams not putting out the best product possible, there&rsquo;s a growing trend of them putting out their worst product on purpose.<\/p>\n<p>For the NBA and league commissioner Adam Silver, that&rsquo;s untenable.<\/p>\n<p>For the fans, it&rsquo;s unwatchable &mdash; and league executives clearly think something needs to be done.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey==typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts={ \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs=[ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i=0; i <inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! ( opts[inputs[i]]=document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"' + inputs[i] + '\"]' ).value ) ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .required-message' ).style.display='block'; \t\t\t\t\t\treturn; \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction input[type=\"submit\"]' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).src=firefly_loading_gif_url; \t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='inline-block';  \t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( 'ma subbing' );  \t\t\t\t\tif( firefly_post_id ) opts['post_id']=firefly_post_id;  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Send the data using post with element id name and name2*\/ \t\t\t\t\tvar posting=jQuery.post( firefly_ajax_url, opts );  \t\t\t\t\t\/* Alerts the results *\/ \t\t\t\t\tposting.done( function( response ) { \t\t\t\t\t\tif( response.success ) { \t\t\t\t\t\t\tconsole.log( response.data ); \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-submitting-img' ).style.display='none'; \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdocument.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction .firefly-sc-confirm' ).style.display='block';  \t\t\t\t\t\t\tdataLayer.push( { 'event': 'submit-correction' } ); \t\t\t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t\t}); \t\t\t} \t\t<\/script> \t     \t\t\t\t\t\t     \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><script>console.log(\"ad slot (BA1)\")<\/script> \t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here\u2019s a paraphrase of the article\u2019s main points:<\/p>\n<p>Ask NBA fans about the league\u2019s biggest problems, and you\u2019ll hear many of the same complaints: too many three-pointers, defense that\u2019s almost nonexistent, a chaotic All-Star Weekend, pervasive social-justice messaging, and too-close ties to sports-betting sites. Although the TV deals are lucrative, overall fan interest and popularity are only average, in part because a lot of games feel hard to watch.<\/p>\n<p>At the core is tanking\u2014the idea that teams deliberately lose to improve their draft position\u2014which is tied to the NBA\u2019s draft lottery system. Unlike the NFL, where the worst team gets the top pick, the NBA\u2019s lottery means non-playoff teams are entered into a drawing to determine order. The worst records have the best odds, but outcomes aren\u2019t guaranteed, so some franchises could tank for multiple seasons. This issue is underscored by instances like the Utah Jazz being fined for benching stars to lose games. The league is reportedly weighing drastic reforms to curb tanking.<\/p>\n<p>ESPN\u2019s Shams Charania reported that several ideas were being discussed, including protecting only top-4 or top-14+ picks, possibly freezing lottery odds based on two-year performance, not allowing back-to-back top-4 picks, and flattening lottery odds for all non-playoff teams. The online reaction has been negative, with critics arguing that if so much has to be done to stop tanking, the league\u2019s integrity is in question.<\/p>\n<p>Fans are understandably frustrated: they\u2019re paying to watch what feels like a tanking product, with teams sometimes fielding subpar lineups on purpose. financially the NBA seems healthy thanks to massive media deals, but on-court product quality is slipping, and some teams appear to be prioritizing losses over competitive play. For Commissioner Adam Silver, that creates pressure to take action to restore both watchability and integrity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2572215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-19T231248.453.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[7142,74273,7873],"class_list":["post-2572214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-basketball","tag-competitive-balance","tag-nba"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Ben-Working-Feature-Image-2026-02-19T231248.453.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2572214"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572214\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2572218,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2572214\/revisions\/2572218"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2572215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2572214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2572214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2572214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}