Inside the NBA is finally approaching a somewhat regular schedule in their first year at ESPN and it allowed Charles Barkley to finally give his opinion on the growing NBA tanking dilemma.
Everyone has offered their own ideas to solve the riddle that has seen almost a quarter of the league go into the tank for the 2026 NBA Draft. Some like Stan Van Gundy even want to see the NBA Draft disposed of in its entirety. And already, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league are exploring several theories to implement as early as next season to combat the growing crisis.
But Charles Barkley, never one to shy away from offering his opinions, has his own ideas on what the league should do. And his first idea starts with the fans – any team below .500 in the standings cannot raise their ticket prices for the next season.
Charles Barkley breaks down his potential solutions to combat tanking in the NBA ✍️ pic.twitter.com/T4VNPSNDgS
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) February 20, 2026
“It’s not fair to the game first and foremost. It’s not fair to your fanbase. I’ve always suggested there’s a rule. I don’t think any NBA team should be able to raise their ticket prices if they’re below .500. I’ve always said that. You cannot raise your ticket prices if your team is below .500. I think they should make that a rule in every sport to be honest with you,” Barkley said.
Ernie Johnson complemented him on the idea, saying it would be an incentive for all teams to win. And fans would surely be happy with that setup as they wouldn’t be putting more money in the pockets of owners who were fine with losing perennially.
But as it specifically relates to tanking, Barkley has more ideas on how to fix the widespread tanking seen throughout the association.
“Number one, every team in the lottery should get one ping pong ball. They shouldn’t give you more balls,” Barkley started, suggesting that every playoff team have equal chances when it comes to the lottery. “The team that has the worst record I think has only got the number one pick like 2 out of 25. Give everyone one ping pong ball.”
“But also this is another one. If you trade a pick, it’s gone. Because now teams can manipulate if it falls in the top three or four or top seven protected, no,” he stated.
The banning of protecting picks would go a long way in fixing a lot of the problem, especially for teams who may not be in real contention to win the lottery but still want to hold on to a high draft pick. The NBA’s trading rules for draft picks that can be protected at various levels is confusing for fans and almost impossible to keep track of. It’s not something that we see in the NFL and Major League Baseball doesn’t even allow for trading draft picks. The NBA is seeking to limit protecting picks, but they might be wise to listen to Sir Charles and get rid of them entirely. At least in this case.
