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How I would solve the NBA's tanking problem

Under the current system, the NBA's worst team (currently the Jazz) would be rewarded in the lottery.

Under the current system, the NBA's worst team (currently the Jazz) would be rewarded in the lottery.

The Knicks won that lottery, of course, launching a thousand conspiracies. The NBA had accomplished its goal, though: It had eliminated the incentive to tank. The league stuck with its equal-chance lottery until 1990, when it acknowledged that, OK, some brands of stink smell worse than others.

Teams are like people; for the most part, they act out of self-interest. The NBA just has to make sure it is not in team's best interests to tank. A simple tweak of the lottery would help.