Adam Silver Points Out Major Issue in the NBA
For years, the NBA has tried its best to convince fans that every regular-season game matters. But according to NBA Commissioner Adam Silver, one of the league's biggest issues may actually involve the fans themselves.
Days after the conclusion of the NBA Draft Lottery, Silver sat down for an exclusive interview with Stephen A. Smith. The commissioner discussed the growing problems across the league. While the NBA has battled teams intentionally losing for better draft odds for quite some time, Silver admitted this past season felt different from anything the league had previously experienced.
"In terms of the tanking, there's no question that what we saw this season was unprecedented", the commissioner said. "Even fans in particular cities and even media in those cities to a certain degree were rooting for their teams to tank and saying, you know, how well can your team be managed if you're sort of just in the middle?".
Silver further suggested that the league has reached a point where losing is no longer viewed negatively in some markets. Instead, struggling through a season has become part of a long-term strategy that fans openly support. The NBA commissioner explained that analytics have influenced the trend, with organizations increasingly believing "it's potentially a winning strategy" to "reach to the bottom to get higher draft picks".
Silver also named the 2026 draft class the "perfect storm", largely because executives, fans, and analysts all believe it could become one of the deepest classes in recent memory. In the NBA Draft Lottery, the Washington Wizards earned the No. 1 overall pick. Their 17-65 record was the worst record this season in the entire league.
The Utah Jazz, Memphis Grizzlies, Chicago Bulls, and Los Angeles Clippers are the other teams in the top five. Top names expected to make headlines in the upcoming draft include AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, Cameron Boozer, and Caleb Wilson. ESPN projects Dybantsa to land with the Wizards.
Former Kansas star Peterson is also viewed as a top prospect. Meanwhile, for Silver, the concern goes beyond the prospects and lottery odds. The bigger fear is fans openly rooting for losses. With such a crisis, the NBA risks damaging the competitive integrity that drives the league.
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This story was originally published May 14, 2026 at 10:33 AM.