NBA Commissioner Adam Silver called press conference before tip-off of this year’s NBA Finals. It appears Silver during his mini State of the League presser was happy with the direction of the Association. He praised the new anti-tanking measures, discussed expansion, and more.
Investigations
A federal judge sentenced Aspiration co-founder Joseph Sanberg to 14 years in federal prison Monday. Sanberg’s now-bankrupt green banking company is at the center of an NBA investigation into the Los Angeles Clippers. Sanberg previously pleaded guilty to two counts of wire fraud after prosecutors alleged he defrauded investors and lenders out of $248 million through fraudulent loans, falsified financial statements and concealed revenue sources. Each count carried a maximum 20-year prison sentence.
Silver declined to elaborate on the NBA’s role in the ongoing investigation.
“It’s then ultimately my role to determine what the appropriate discipline, if any, should be meted out based on their findings,” Silver said. “I don’t have a specific timeline on when they will be completed.”
Anti-Tanking Measures
The league approved a new draft lottery format that expands the pool from 14 to 16 teams, incorporating the No. 8 seeds from each conference. The restructured system also introduces anti-tanking provisions, reducing lottery odds for the three worst-record teams while flattening the odds for non-playoff and non-play-in teams.
“Our fans were speaking loud and clearly about this being unacceptable,” Silver said, adding that the previous incentive structure created marketplace unfairness by rewarding poor on-court performance.
The new format, dubbed the “3-2-1 lottery,” assigns ping-pong balls based on standings. Teams finishing fourth through 10th in the worst-record rankings receive three balls each, while the bottom three teams receive two balls each and face a draft-position floor of No. 12, discouraging deliberate losing. The No. 9 and No. 10 play-in seeds each receive two balls, and the losers of the 7-8 play-in games receive one ball each.
Previously, the league determined lottery odds only for the four worst-record teams, with the remaining 10 slotted by inverse record. Under the new system, all 16 teams participate in a live drawing, likely revealed in descending order from No. 16 to No. 1.
Expansion
The NBA is targeting the 2028-29 season for new franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle, with the league’s Board of Governors having authorized expansion discussions. Franchise valuations are projected between $7 billion and $10 billion per team. Silver said the league’s board expects to make a final decision by the end of 2026, though he cautioned expansion in either or both cities is not guaranteed.
“As I think everyone knows at this point, we’re focused on Las Vegas and Seattle,” said Silver. “There’s multiple groups interested in both cities. We’re in discussions with them, and the timeline is that, as I’ve said before, it’s, it’s not a foregone conclusion that we will expand either in either in one city or both cities, but what we’ve told all interested parties at our anticipation, our board will make a decision by the end of this calendar year.”
Broadcast Ratings
The NBA’s return to NBC after a 23-year absence drew strong viewership in its first season under the league’s 11-year, $76 billion rights deal. NBC Sports reported its 2026 playoff coverage across 28 games on NBC and Peacock averaged 7.2 million viewers, a 72% increase over comparable coverage the prior season. Nine of the top 10 most-watched playoff games this season aired on those platforms.
Amazon Prime Video’s debut NBA season averaged 1 million viewers across 67 regular-season games. Its playoff coverage averaged 3 million viewers per night. Prime’s NBA audience carried a median age of 46.9 years — 9.1 years younger than the league’s linear television viewership, which averaged 56 years old.
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