With key NBA figures still embroiled in a betting scandal, the league is looking at further ways to curb game manipulation.
Those measures could include new anti-tanking rules, ESPN’s Shams Charania reported on Tuesday.
At a board of governors meeting on Friday, stakeholders discussed possibilities including banning teams from top-four picks in consecutive years; limiting draft protections to either top-four or top-14; and locking lottery positions after March 1.
The goal would be to remove incentives for teams to sit top players — information that could be exploited by gamblers due to its tie to injury reporting.
On Friday, the NBA tweaked its injury-reporting rules, requiring teams (other than on back-to-backs) to resubmit their reports between 8-10 a.m. on game days.
The NBA last implemented anti-tanking measures in 2019, when it evened lottery odds to 14 per cent across the three worst teams and flattened them across the board. The Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks have jumped to the first pick from 10th and 11th in the past two years.
Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier recently pled not guilty to charges he helped gamblers placing bets on his performance in games.
Portland Trail Blazers coach and NBA Hall of Famer Chauncey Billups has pleaded not guilty in a separate scheme to fix high-stakes, Mafia-backed illegal poker games.
The other NBA figure ensnared in the investigation is Damon Jones, who pleaded not guilty last month to charges he provided sports bettors with non-public information about injuries to stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis while serving as an unofficial assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2022-23 season. Jones, a former NBA player, is also indicted along with Billups and others in the separate poker scheme.
–with files from The Associated Press
