NBA commissioner Adam Silver warned Saturday that tanking — teams deliberately losing games to improve draft positioning — is worse this year than in recent memory, and the league must explore every possible solution to curb the practice.

Speaking at his annual pre-NBA All-Star Game news conference, Silver criticized existing penalties, saying they “are not working” to prevent teams from manipulating the system that determines draft order.

“Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we’ve seen in recent memory? Yes, is my view,” Silver said.

The NBA Draft lottery gives the teams with the worst records the best chance to select top prospects, a system that has long incentivized tanking. This week, the league fined the Utah Jazz $500,000 for “conduct detrimental to the league” in games against the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, and fined the Indiana Pacers $100,000 for violating the player participation policy in a game versus the Jazz.

When asked whether the league might consider stripping draft picks from teams that intentionally underperform, rather than just imposing fines, Silver confirmed that discussions are ongoing “about every possible remedy now to stop this behavior.”

The Jazz, currently 13th in the Western Conference and eight games out of the play-in, were leading by three points in the fourth quarter against Miami on February 9 and dominating inside, but coach Will Hardy benched his top players — similar to his approach in a February 7 game against Orlando.

“It has been part of this league for a long time,” Silver said. “At some point, I think it was in the 1980s, we moved to a lottery. That lottery has been changed roughly five times over the years to try to stay ahead of some of the behavior of our teams.”

Silver also touched on other league developments ahead of Sunday’s All-Star Game. Talks are expected next month regarding potential expansion, including rumored franchises in Las Vegas and Seattle. No vote is imminent, and relocating an existing team is not under consideration.

Additionally, Silver reiterated that the planned NBA Europe league — featuring teams affiliated with European soccer giants such as Real Madrid — is still scheduled to launch next year. Several organizations have expressed strong interest in owning franchises and signed NDAs to access the league’s projections and models.

“Do I think it’s doable for 27/28? Yes,” Silver said. “How we launch the league won’t look like it will several years later,” citing the need for new arena construction to support the expansion.