In the wake of the gambling scandal that rocked the league at the start of the season — where some gamblers allegedly used inside information about a team sitting key players late in the season to place bets — the NBA is again looking for ways to reduce tanking. The league wants to limit teams from "deliberately manipulating" their rosters or sitting players to improve their Draft Lottery odds.

That was a key topic at a Board of Governors meeting last Friday, with the league soliciting ideas from owners, general managers and others, reports Shams Charania of ESPN. He said the league presented several ideas seeking feedback, ones designed to keep non-playoff teams from tanking, including:

• Limiting pick protections to either top four or 14 and higher, which would eliminate the problematic mid-lottery protections.

• No longer allowing a team to draft in the top four two years in a row.

• Locking lottery positions after March 1.

No new regulations have yet been adopted, the league is still gathering information and floating ideas. Any changes would require approval from the Board of Governors (the owners).

Some of the teams tanking the hardest in recent seasons were when a team had a mid-lottery pick protection, and teams changed their rosters or sat players in order to retain those picks for a year. For example, Dallas had a top-10-protected pick in its 2023 and sat Kyrie Irving and Luka Dončić in their final game; or, like the Jazz this season, who have a top-eight-protected pick, although they are not yet tanking hard (but other teams are watching their moves heading toward the trade deadline).

The third suggestion — locking lottery positions on March 1 (or another date) — would simply lead teams to tank earlier in the middle of the season.

The second proposal — not allowing a team to select in the top four in consecutive years — would have directly stopped two of the best young teams in the league from forming. San Antonio drafted Victor Wembanyama (2023), Stephon Castle (2024), and Dylan Harper (2025) with top-four picks in consecutive years and they form the core of the current No. 2 team in the West. Houston drafted Jalen Green (2021), Jabari Smith Jr. (2022), Amen Thompson (2023), and Reed Sheppard (2024) high in the lottery to form key parts of its young core as well.

The challenge for the NBA is that basketball is a sport where one player can literally change a franchise's prospects, and elite teams need a top-5-10 player and a couple more in the top-25-30 to contend. The best — and often only — way for most teams to get those players is through the draft. Teams have scouted the level of talent coming in for every class (and this coming June's draft is particularly deep at the top), which will always lead teams to look for ways to improve their chances of getting one of those picks.

The league last amended the draft rules to limit tanking in 2019, after "the process" 76ers became a story and the league was concerned about a race to the bottom by other teams. At that time, the league changed the odds so that the three worst regular-season teams each have a 14% chance of landing the No. 1 pick and a 52.1% chance of being in the top four. As a result, over the last three seasons, the team with the worst record in the NBA fell to fifth, while Atlanta (10th-worst record) and Dallas (11th) jumped up to land the No. 1 pick.

The NBA already introduced new injury reporting rules, which also were tied to the gambling scandal that hit the league. The league is forcing teams to update their injury reports on game days earlier and more often so that there is no inside information about a player or players sitting out (or coming back) that someone with inside information could profit from.

Happy Holidays! We’ve got another unusual week in the association, with zero-game slates and Christmas Day games on deck.

Let’s get into what we might expect moving forward.

→ Watch the NBA Coast 2 Coast Tuesday on NBC and Peacock! The Nuggets take on the Mavericks at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the Rockets at the Clippers at 11 p.m. ET. Both games are available on Peacock. Check your local listings for the NBC game in your area.

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• Raphielle Johnson,

STOCK UP

Brook Lopez — C, Clippers

The Clippers ended their five-game losing streak with a win over the Lakers this past weekend, but lost arguably their most durable player, Ivica Zubac, in the process. With Zubac out for at least the next few weeks, that provides Lopez a massive opportunity to become a relevant fantasy basketball option. In his first year with the Clippers, Lopez has underwhelmed and been completely out of the rotation for stretches while the team struggled. Yet, he took advantage of his increased playing time against the Lakers and finished with 11 points, three three-pointers, and a pair of blocked shots — anything along those lines should be expected as he presumably steps into the starting lineup for the time being. The veteran center has the potential to log some even better performances if the three-point volume remains. Nonetheless, Lopez is in a good spot, and if he plays well over the next couple of games, he could be a worthwhile fantasy option.

Russell Westbrook — PG/SG, Kings

It’s not all bad for everyone on the Kings; just ask Westbrook, who remains a nightly triple-double threat in his 18th NBA season. The BIG numbers aren’t there as frequently as once before, but the former league MVP is still getting the job done in several categories — he’s averaging his most points and assists since the 2022-23 season, and his most rebounds since Year 1 with the Lakers. And on high volume, Westbrook is shooting the best three-point percentage of his career. He’s taking advantage of his starting role with Sacramento and has been one of the team’s most productive players. His stock should continue to rise as he gets more comfortable and grows in his role.

Kyshawn George — SG/SF/PF, Wizards

George has hardly slowed down after a very fast start to his sophomore season. The scoring has fluctuated over the past week, mostly due to inefficient three-point shooting, but he has made up for it by functioning as an impactful passer, productive rebounder, and a disruptive defender who consistently collects stocks. The bottom line is that George is proving he can remain an impactful fantasy basketball player on any night, given his ability to be involved in several areas of the game — this is his floor. His ceiling is the occasions when he’s got it all clicking. He’s averaging 17.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 7.0 assists over his last three.

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• Raphielle Johnson,

STOCK DOWN

Malik Monk — SG, Kings

It’s been a down season for the Kings and several of their veteran players. Of the many established names on the roster, Monk is the latest to find himself in an unfavorable spot. Before logging five minutes of game action in Sacramento’s recent come-from-behind win in overtime over Houston, he had spent the previous two in uniform but unable to crack the rotation. The versatile combo guard has, admittedly, been confused by the sudden lack of playing time, as have many followers, such as myself. Monk had combined for 34 points, eight assists, and six three-pointers in the two games prior to being benched, and also had 25 points and five threes in a game against the Rockets earlier this month. It doesn’t appear as though a return to the rotation is imminent, leaving him firmly in this “Stock Down” category.

Mark Williams — C, Suns

Williams’s lack of involvement and production on the offensive end has been both surprising and concerning, following an eight-game streak of double-digit scoring performances, which included four with at least 15 points. He hasn’t played more than 19 minutes in three of the last four games, resulting in five or fewer shot attempts and less than 10 points in said games. Williams is also collecting just 5.1 rebounds per game in December, far below the 9.1 he tallied in November and the 9.4 in October. Perhaps a more favorable matchup with the Lakers, whom he logged 20 points against in between his three recent low-scoring games, could get him back on track.

Andrew Wiggins — SG/SF/PF, Heat

It’s difficult to say exactly what’s caused the Heat to sputter over the past few weeks and lose seven of their last nine games. However, receiving minimal scoring production on offense from one of the team’s more proven players could be part of the issue. Whether due to low volume or inefficient shooting, Wiggins has scored better than 13 points only twice so far in December — he’s been even less productive as a scorer recently, averaging 9.0 points on 9-of-31 shooting over the past three games. Contributions on the defensive end have helped keep the fantasy production from falling off. Still, fantasy managers would like to see the former NBA champion pick up his scoring production and put together more well-rounded performances.