Report: NBA mulls anti-tanking measures including draft tweaks

The NBA is considering measures to dissuade tanking, including a rule prohibiting teams from having a top-four pick in consecutive drafts, sources told ESPN's Shams Charania.

That was reportedly one of several ideas the league presented during a board of governors meeting Friday. The NBA also suggested limiting protections on traded picks so that they can only protect the top four or the entire lottery (top 14) and floated the possibility of locking teams into their lottery positions March 1, according to Charania.

Combating tanking is reportedly a priority for the league after the federal indictments of Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier, Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, and former player Damon Jones, which alleged that some gamblers used non-public information about players' statuses to their advantage.

In the indictments of Rozier and Jones, an unnamed co-conspirator's description matched Billups, who was simultaneously indicted in a separate mafia-linked poker scheme. The unnamed individual allegedly told a man that the Trail Blazers would rest several of their top scorers for a March 2023 game against the Chicago Bulls that Portland intended to lose. Gamblers then allegedly bet over $100,000 on Chicago to win, and the Blazers lost 124-96.

The NBA instituted new injury reporting policies Monday, according to Charania. Teams now have to submit listings on game day between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time and update public injury reports every 15 minutes instead of hourly.