Golden State Warriors All-Star Stephen Curry downplayed the NBA's recent fines of the Utah Jazz and the Indiana Pacers for tanking during All-Star Media Day. After Warriors veteran Draymond Green called out Adam Silver for the NBA's new All-Star Game format, Curry responded to the intriguing topic of teams bettering their chances of obtaining a good draft pick by benching their best players.
Curry questioned the severity of the NBA's tanking issue during his media availability on Saturday.
“Is it really that big of a problem? I’m asking. We feel like there’s obviously a lot of competition,” Curry said. “It’s something I’m sure every year the NBA wants to address: why the Play-in Tournament exists. Things evolve, problems arise, and everybody wants to shine a spotlight on all the negatives of the league. But let’s focus on the positives of how great the competition is at the top. There still is relevancy regular season-wise of the seeding and playoff chase.
“I know there’s a conversation around how many games we’re playing. That’s probably where I would focus more the attention. Let’s not forget the league is in great place overall in terms of the attention, the skill level, the global reach, all of that stuff. Every year you’ll address the issues. I don’t have those answers though,” Curry concluded.
Steph Curry was asked what he thinks the NBA should do to reduce tanking:
“Is it really that big of a problem? I’m asking. We feel like there’s obviously a lot of competition. It’s something I’m sure every year the NBA wants to address, why the Play-in Tournament exists. Things… pic.twitter.com/tMVMb1VaNK
— aly ✶ (@jinthirty) February 14, 2026
For Curry, the 82-game regular season should also be a topic of conversation. Perhaps trimming the 82 games or adding a week or two to the season would help with how demanding the NBA regular season can be, as Stephen Curry noted.
Adam Silver addresses NBA teams' tanking
Without any specific ideas to disclose, NBA commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that tanking is an issue in the league, one that will be addressed beyond the league's recent fines. Silver tackled the topic during his availability at Media Day.
“There is talk about every possible remedy now to stop this behavior,” Silver replied.
"There is talk about every possible remedy now to stop this behavior."
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on the possibility of stripping teams of draft picks instead of issuing fines 🗣️pic.twitter.com/q9f45Xj0rd
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) February 14, 2026
New penalties for teams sitting their best players could be announced by the NBA in the near future.
