Wizards Should Beware of Adam Silver's Anti-Tanking Comments

The NBA's All-Star Weekend opened opportunities for exchanges between the media and the league's most notable faces right around the season's midway point, leaving NBA Commissioner Adam Silver vulnerable to be grilled about his favorite-least-favorite discussion topic: tanking.

He's spent years making his opinion clear on the controversial team-building strategy, disapproving of teams like the Washington Wizards' consistently lopsided records enough to flatten the draft lottery odds and, as of recent, tax-incentivized losers whom he deems disrespectful to the league's overall product. But for squads in overlooked markets and down on their luck, tanking is often the only way to personally bolster draft odds and control their own destiny.

But Silver is unwilling to double back on his draft-based initiatives, letting the public know as much during media availability before All-Star festivities.

"Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we've seen in recent memory? Yes, it is my view, which is what led to those fines," he said, "and not just those fines, but to my statement that we're gonna be looking more closely at the totality of all the circumstances this season in terms of teams' behavior, and very intentionally wanted teams to be on notice."

He's making a point of paying closer attention to those prioritizing future draft stock over piling up nightly regular season wins, which can explain a few of the recent rumors surrounding Silver's attempts at thwarting specific tanking operations.

Ideas like his, potentially providing incoming rookies with more freedom to pick their own destinations has bounced around over the last few days, and that goes back to Silver's discomfort with the current state of the game's perception in the eyes of the networks.

How Does This Influence the Wizards?

The Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons and Houston Rockets are among the NBA's top powers entering 2026, and each of those organizations spent a few years out of the limelight to focus on rebuilding through the draft.

Washington Wizards Center Alex Sarr and Oklahoma City Thunder Center Isaiah Hartenstein — Oct 30, 2025; Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, USA; Washington Wizards center Alex Sarr (20) moves the ball as Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein (55) defends during the second half at Paycom Center. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

The Wizards are following that same tried-and-true playbook; Anthony Davis and Trae Young, Washington's shiny new stars that they only recently acquired through trades, may each suit up for a few games here and there over the final 30 or so games remaining on their up-and-coming schedule, but expect caution out of a front office still looking to hold onto a presumably-elite draft pick headed their way.

In Silver's NBA, though, nothing is certain, as last summer's disastrous fall to the sixth overall pick proved for D.C. The commissioner only has himself to blame for the nine or 10 teams that have already punted on maxing out this season's win total; bottom-of-the-barrel teams are getting jumped by Play-In contenders more frequently than ever before, making the steps taken by teams like the Wizards look like safe bets after years of getting scorned by the lottery gods.

This is a classic case of "don't hate the player; hate the game," and while other fan bases have reason to pray on the Wizards' on-court talent winning out against the front office's wishes, this team has been molded by those who tanked before them and the deflated odds they're continually up against. Any endeavor that further strays from the lottery process that stood before Silver's unnecessary tweaks would just be another mistake.

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