Proposed new NBA rules could derail the Charlotte Hornets

The NBA draft lottery is already pretty unfair to teams like the Charlotte Hornets. They've been a bad team for several seasons now, and they've rarely gotten even an ounce of lottery luck.

They got the short end of the stick in 2024, and then they got the short end of the stick again in 2025. Being able to draft Kon Knueppel in 2025 worked out, but not having lottery luck is not good.

This is a direct result of the anti-tanking measures the NBA has in place. The lottery is to ensure that teams can't just tank their way to the best player in the draft, but it hurts teams that are just bad. Like the Hornets.

There is no fair world where the 2024-25 Dallas Mavericks and 2024-25 San Antonio Spurs pick first and second in the NBA draft, but that's what the lottery produced last time. It's not a fair system whatsoever, and it could get even worse for teams like the Hornets.

Proposed anti-tanking rules set to harm Hornets

Dec 16, 2025; Las Vegas, Nevada, USA; NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks during press conference at the Emirates NBA Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The Hornets aren't the only team that's perennially bad. The Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, and Brooklyn Nets seem stuck, too. Not being able to pick where they land record-wise has certainly hampered them.

That could get worse in the near future. Apparently, giving the Mavericks and Spurs really good picks after barely missing the playoffs isn't enough. No, the NBA needs to continue making things harder for bad teams and pretending it's in the name of curbing tanking.

The proposed changes are as follows, per ESPN:

Limiting pick protections to either top four or 14 and higher, which would eliminate the problematic mid-lottery protections.
No longer allowing a team to draft in the top four two years in a row.
Locking lottery positions after March 1.

That middle one is the most problematic. If a team is continuously bad, not allowing them to get even a top-four prospect is highly unfair. It only opens the door for better teams to get better prospects, which is not in the spirit of allowing a balanced league.

The NFL does it in reverse standing order, so the worst teams get the best shot at improving. This gives those teams a way forward and their fan bases a reason to hope. If you're the Hornets, Jazz, or Wizards, what hope do you have?

The Hornets picked fourth last year, and that was not the ideal or fair outcome. Under these new rules, the Hornets would be able to pick fifth or worse despite being once again one of the worst teams in the league.

Plus, if the Hornets do improve and finish in the middle of the lottery or even at the top, how is it fair to prevent them from having the same luck the Mavericks had? If the Mavs can move all the way up, why can't the Hornets? Just because they picked fourth in 2025? That doesn't seem fair.

It's important to note that these are not definitely coming to the NBA, but the league seems poised to make some anti-tanking changes. Unfortunately, it will continue to only hurt the bad teams.

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