Does the NBA have an integrity problem? A strong majority of its players don\u2019t think so, but they also see a troubling trend developing of issues that could damage the league\u2019s reputation if they aren\u2019t addressed.<\/p>\n
In our latest installment of The Athletic\u2019s anonymous player poll, we asked more than 150 players if the league\u2019s biggest controversies this season \u2014 gambling, tanking and accusations that the LA Clippers circumvented the salary cap with Kawhi Leonard \u2014 called the NBA\u2019s integrity into question.<\/p>\n
We also asked specifically about \u201ctanking,\u201d or executives and coaches rigging lineups, rotations and player availability to give their teams the best chance to lose to improve their draft status, and we asked what the players would change about the NBA if they could have commissioner Adam Silver\u2019s job.<\/p>\n
Nearly 75 percent of respondents said the league\u2019s integrity was not in danger; about 72 percent said \u201ctanking\u201d was either a \u201clittle problem\u201d or not one at all; and far more players would rather see the NBA eliminate games on consecutive nights, reduce the regular season from its long-held 82-game schedule or change the rules to allow for more defense, than do something about gambling, tanking or the Clippers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe league is actively trying to be better,\u201d said one player, acknowledging the serious issues facing the NBA. \u201cIf you have an integrity problem, you just don\u2019t care.\u201d<\/p>\n
Training camps were still a couple of weeks away in September when the Clippers were accused of cheating<\/a> by arranging a lucrative no-show job with a team sponsor for Leonard so he could be paid outside the salary cap. The Clippers insist they are innocent<\/a>, and the league\u2019s investigation is ongoing.<\/p>\n On the morning of Day 3 of the regular season, sweeping federal gambling charges were announced<\/a> against Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier and former NBA assistant coach Damon Jones. In a dramatic scene at the courthouse in Brooklyn, Justice Department officials, including FBI director Kash Patel, laid out allegations of Billups and Jones rigging poker games with gangsters, Rozier intentionally removing himself from a game to win bets, and Jones selling inside information on star Lakers players to gamblers so they could win money. Jones pleaded guilty<\/a> to the charges. Billups missed the entire season, as did Rozier, who was released by the Heat<\/a>. The NBA reopened its gambling investigations<\/a> to see what it missed and changed injury reporting rules<\/a> for teams to provide more clarity, earlier in the day, as to who will play each night.<\/p>\n The dominant topic of discussion in the league over the last three months has been tanking. The NBA fined two teams and investigated at least one more for doing it, and it is nearing dramatic rule changes to disincentivize losing games for better draft picks.<\/p>\n The Athletic\u2019s poll was conducted before the Heat released Rozier and Jones pleaded guilty in the gambling cases, and before the league unveiled its latest anti-tanking measures<\/a>. As always, we granted the players anonymity to give them the freedom to answer honestly, without fear of reprisals from opponents, teammates or fans. For transparency and context, we\u2019ll tell you how many people responded to each topic.<\/p>\n Is the integrity of the game in danger?<\/p>\n An informal analysis of the answers to this question came down to the players collectively saying, \u201cNo, but\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t think we have an integrity issue,\u201d one player said. \u201cIt\u2019s almost like it\u2019s the beginning of possible issues that could happen because of gambling. It\u2019s getting more negative attention that could affect the purity of the game.<\/p>\n \u201cThe purists, we just want to play.\u201d<\/p>\n To be clear, the NBA didn\u2019t legalize gambling \u2014 the U.S. Supreme Court did, essentially, by ruling that it was up to each state to allow (or not) sports betting within its borders. Thirty-nine states, plus Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico, have taken the high court up on its offer.<\/p>\n But in the aftermath of that 2018 Supreme Court ruling<\/a> that paved the way for widespread legal betting, the NBA (and other major pro sports) eagerly pursued partnerships with sportsbooks so the league could make money off bets placed on its games. The coziness between the league and the sports books, and the proliferation of betting among fans, is what the players feel \u2014 and they see it as a problem.<\/p>\n “They have to do something with gambling,\u201d one player said. \u201cIf they don’t, the league is in trouble.”<\/p>\n \u201cThe gambling with social media is a dangerous combination \u2014 it has too much of an impact on the game,” said another.<\/p>\n A third player said, \u201cWe go out, and I can hear a fan say, \u2018Please get 11 points,\u2019 you know what I’m saying? I just feel like that’s (messed) the game up a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n Gambling was, by far, the reason most often cited by players who said the NBA\u2019s integrity was in danger, or suggested that it could be if changes weren\u2019t made.<\/p>\n All season long, players in all 30 locker rooms have loathed offering takes in either direction on one of their colleagues (Leonard) and his off-court earning opportunities. Leonard, like the Clippers, has insisted there is no wrongdoing.<\/p>\n “I don’t think the (NBA\u2019s) integrity is in danger; I think it’s just a lot of new stuff people are taking advantage of,\u201d said one player, offering a broader answer than simply \u201cbetting\u201d as the thing that could trip up the league. \u201cIt’s just like college with NIL starting. You don’t have specific rules until someone tries to alter or break them, and then you find more reasons to implement different rules.”<\/p>\n Another player said any serious issues facing the NBA are overshadowed by the talent coursing through the league.<\/p>\n \u201cI really feel like with the Wembys and Lukas and even still LeBron, they drove so much attention that even now some people like myself forgot that most of that stuff even happened,” the player said. \u201cBut it still happened. I didn’t ignore it, but I don’t think the integrity of the game is at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n Players had strong feelings about tanking, too.<\/p>\n How much of a problem is tanking?<\/p>\n It\u2019s an issue on every player\u2019s radar because, no matter which team he plays for, he is going to play in games where one franchise would prefer to lose for the betterment of its future.<\/p>\n In casual conversation among fans and reporters, \u201cteams\u201d are accused of tanking. But the players on the court could not care less about future draft positions. They\u2019re trying to win or play well enough to earn a larger contract or new opportunity with a different team \u2014 the kind of effort that can lead to winning.<\/p>\n \u201cTanking\u201d is about making sure a team\u2019s best players are simply not available to help them win.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m salty on this one, I think the league needs to do something about it,\u201d one player said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is very terrible,\u201d said another. \u201cI’ve seen some things where people say it’s \u2026 a tournament for teams that are in last place.\u201d<\/p>\n Another player said tanking \u201ckills the league. You shouldn\u2019t be rewarded for losing.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, Silver, with input from league executives, is working to take those rewards away by expanding the draft lottery, flattening odds of securing the top pick and punishing teams in the draft that are consistently bad from season to season.<\/p>\n But the practice of sandbagging for a season or two to build through the draft is not exactly new in the NBA. For instance, the San Antonio Spurs, a model franchise by most standards, were widely accused of tanking the 1996-97 season, resulting in a chance to draft Tim Duncan. They won 56 games in Duncan\u2019s rookie year and reached the playoffs 22 years in a row with five titles, and then were accused of \u201ctanking\u201d in 2022-23 to land French sensation Victor Wembanyama. Look how that\u2019s gone.<\/p>\n There are plenty of other examples. The difference, perhaps, was the egregiousness of what teams did this season<\/a>, from making trades for stars and stashing them away while they lost, to pulling key players from games in February \u2014 with months left in the season.<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s kind of gone on forever, and the league’s been fine,\u201d one player said.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s cool if (other teams) tank because (they\u2019re) just giving us free games right now,\u201d another player said. \u201cI feel like it’s not good for the game of basketball, but I feel like with tanking, you get individual opportunities that necessarily wouldn’t have been opportunities if you’re trying to win. And I think that’s huge.”<\/p>\n One player called tanking a \u201ctiny problem\u201d and reminded us that it doesn\u2019t always work.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Mavericks got the No. 1 pick last year,\u201d he said, referring to Dallas overcoming a 1.8 percent chance of getting the No. 1 pick and leapfrogging 10 teams that were all worse than it.<\/p>\n If you were commissioner for a day, with broad power to push through any change, what change would you make to the league?<\/p>\n NBA players want to play less, and less often during the week, with more opportunities to bludgeon their opponents on defense and more teams to play against.<\/p>\n Or something like that.<\/p>\n \u201cThe easy answer is less games, but I would say that’s a half-answer because I don’t know how we make the money up,\u201d said a player who was willing to address the obvious problem created by reducing the number of regular-season games.<\/p>\n The NBA\u2019s financial structure is built on the idea that each team will play 82 games during the regular season. Reducing that number should, ostensibly, mean less money for everyone, or the reopening of the league\u2019s lucrative TV contracts and the collective bargaining agreement with players, to address the domino effect of shrinking the season.<\/p>\n The reason typically stated for reducing the NBA schedule is the uptick in injuries, especially to star players, as the pace of play has increased. Less wear and tear could, in theory, mean more of the game\u2019s top players are available to play in more games.<\/p>\n