What the NBA's New Anti-Tanking Rules Mean for the Brooklyn Nets

The league's board of governors passed a 29-1 vote to hopefully solve the tanking dilemma.

Feb 7, 2023; Brooklyn, New York, USA; Brooklyn Nets owner Joe Tsai looks on during the first half of the game between the Nets and the Phoenix Suns at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

NBA insider Shams Charania reported that the NBA's Board of Governors has implemented new anti-tanking regulations, which include increasing the number of teams in the draft lottery from 14 to 16 and creating a relegation zone where the bottom three teams are punished with reduced odds to select first overall.

After months of meetings and discussions among league, ownership and team stakeholders, the NBA takes an unprecedented step in American professional sports by penalizing the worst teams in the draft lottery and developing a new system to reward winning. Nearly 8 to 10 franchises were vying for top lottery odds in the last stretch of this season, a radical reaction by the NBA to radical behavior. Starting with the 2027 Draft, the new "3-2-1" lottery will run through at least 2029.

The number of lottery balls for each team is now represented by the "3-2-1 lottery" designation. There are only two lottery balls available to teams in the relegation zone, or those with a bottom-three record. Three lottery balls are awarded to teams in places four through 10 that do not advance to the playoffs or play-in tournament.

The losers of the 7-8 play-in games receive one lottery ball each, while the conference's No. 9 and 10 play-in seeds receive two lottery balls each. The drawing will include all 16 teams.

No team will be able to win three straight top-five picks or the No. 1 pick in consecutive years. This would mean that teams like the San Antonio Spurs –– which are in the Western Conference Finals –– would not be able to build their team as they have because they picked in the top five in three straight drafts from 2023-25.

The Memphis Grizzlies were the only team to vote against the new anti-tanking lottery rule in the NBA Board of Governors vote, which passed 29-1.

In relation to how this affects the Brooklyn Nets, it should only promote competitiveness within the organization. They already don't have the rights to their 2027 first-round pick, and the new rules double down on the fact that they should try to be competitive. There's no harm in at least shooting for a run at the play-in.

In the long run, this new format might be advantageous to the Nets. The temptation for aggressive tanking is diminished by flattening lottery odds, and Brooklyn's current philosophy of roster flexibility and asset accumulation fits this system. Instead of bottoming out, the new approach gives a team rebuilding through trades and player development a more balanced route back to contention while maintaining their competitiveness to develop young talent in meaningful games.