NBA Tanking Crackdown is Coming, and the Chicago Bulls Stand to Benefit

Adam Silver isn't backing down.

Attending the Sloan conference on Friday, the NBA Commissioner continued to reprimand the league for its current tanking practices. Silver has recently cracked down on what has been a popular tactic for years, insisting that he would no longer allow organizations to angle for lottery odds.

His first warning came earlier this season, when he made an example out of both the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers. The league office fined both teams for the way they handled minutes for their top talent. Utah, in particular, was targeted with a lofty $500,000 fine for sitting Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. in the fourth quarter of a close game.

Silver has made clear that he believes the tanking problem is worse than ever. And he sure has some evidence to back that up. As Yahoo Sports' Tom Haberstroh pointed out just this week, the bottom ten teams in the league were on a collective 40-game losing streak. Speaking of which, each of those ten teams currently has fewer than 30 wins and is out of the Play-In Tournament picture by at least 5.0+ games.

To be sure, few can blame teams for bottoming out ahead of this 2026 draft class. The top is seen as arguably the deepest in years, with many believing there could be four future superstars available. Also, as annoyed as Silver might be, the truth is that the NBA's current system allows for this behavior. The worse you are, the better chance you have at sitting high on the draft board. Why wouldn't teams in desperate need of a boost try to use that to their advantage?

At the same time, Silver's frustration is more than understandable. The product is undoubtedly damaged when a third of the league is throwing in the towel at the trade deadline. The longer this goes on, the less competitive and important the regular season will feel. And that's exactly why Silver is finally putting his foot down.

The commissioner reiterated on Friday that he plans to establish new practices that deter tanking as soon as this offseason.

"We are going to make substantial changes for next year," Silver said via Mike Vorkunov. "On one hand you can completely divorce the draft from teams' records ... That would be a major shock to the system. Not to completely forecast where we're going but I am an incrementalist."

Exactly what the plan will be moving forward remains to be seen, but Silver is giving the league its first real glimpse at his train of thought. The simple fact that he would bring up eliminating the lottery or abiding by similar rules to the WNBA (which uses two-year sample sizes) goes to show that all options are on the table. However, as he suggested, taking things slowly may be the best approach.

The Athletic went on to share more from Silver, who seems eager to avoid penalizing teams who are doing things the right way. He insisted that there are legitimate rebuilds out there, where teams are trying hard to win games or prioritizing meaningful developmental minutes. In other words, the goal for some teams isn't strictly to lose games, and he seems to believe those teams should still be rewarded.

Wait a minute! I know a team like that!

Will Adam Silver's Tanking Solution Help the Bulls?

Adam Silver NBA — Feb 15, 2026; Inglewood, California, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks to media after the 75th NBA All Star Game at Intuit Dome. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

It's easy to look at the NBA's new crackdown on tanking and feel even more frustrated with the Chicago Bulls. The organization refused to embrace the strategy year after year, standing by a moral code that only they seemed to abide by. In the meantime, bottom-feeders like the Minnesota Timberwolves, Detroit Pistons, Orlando Magic, and San Antonio Spurs reaped the benefits and completely turned their franchises around.

To be clear, a looming change does not mean the Bulls were right all along. They still shot themselves in the foot by not playing the game that everyone else was playing. However, as an organization that has refused to embrace the tank, it sure seems as if they could be on Silver's good side and could stand to benefit from whatever this upcoming change might be.

Does this mean they are going to be singled out by the commissioner and given special treatment? Of course not, but it does suggest that their painful commitment to competitive integrity could begin to hurt a lot less moving forward. And, let's be honest, this mindset was never going to change despite the sell-off at the trade deadline.

We need to look no further than Thursday's game to see just that. To the dismay of many, Billy Donovan leaned on a veteran closing lineup to pull off a shocking win over the potentially playoff-bound Phoenix Suns. After the game, the head coach sat there and continued to preach a winning message, insisting that the front office instructed him to put his best foot forward.

Again, we can all agree that this is a foolish philosophy under the current circumstances, but the NBA would be a better league if more teams adopted it. Playing to lose defeats the whole purpose. Fans shouldn't have to actively root against their team or have a pit in their stomach when they are on the right side of the scoreboard. Indeed, no one likes the idea of tanking, but the league has given fans no choice but to welcome it with open arms.

With that being the case, a change is surely long overdue, and few teams are likely more excited to see that change than the Chicago Bulls.

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