Why the NBA’s Tanking Problem Isn’t What You Think

Tanking used to be a proper gentleman’s game.

It’s the hot-button topic that swept the NBA during All-Star Weekend, as a third of the league is intentionally losing games to better draft positioning.

And it’s hard to blame teams.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are the betting favorite to repeat as NBA Champions. The Cleveland Cavaliers are the favorite to win the Eastern Conference.

Once upon a time not too long ago, both of these teams were at the bottom of the barrel in the NBA. The Thunder had traded away Paul George and embraced their future as a bad basketball team.

Certainly, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander’s development into an NBA MVP helped things. Similarly, the Cavaliers lost LeBron James and bought out Kevin Love, paving the way for painful years that resulted in top draft selections and a trade for Donovan Mitchell.

After trading away George, the Thunder didn’t even win 50 games in 2019. Steven Adams and Danilo Gallinari held court with players like Nerlens Noel, Chris Paul and Terrance Ferguson playing significant minutes. That season, the Cavaliers only won 19 games. They were playing Cedi Osman and Dante Exum for significant minutes.

But the Cavaliers and Thunder rebuilt themselves through the NBA Draft. They didn’t have superstar players to shut down.

Just last week, the rebuilding Utah Jazz shut down Jaren Jackson Jr. for the season. On Wednesday, the Dallas Mavericks shut down Kyrie Irving.

As a result of the tanking commotion, NBA commissioner Adam Silver fined teams including the Jazz and Indiana Pacers. But he’s also threatening to strip draft picks, or abolishing the NBA Draft altogether, making rookies free agents to sign with any team.

Ironically, abolishing the draft would probably hurt small market teams, including the Thunder and Cavaliers, who would be the betting favorites to play each other in the NBA Finals this season.

So, maybe tanking isn’t the issue? Instead, teams have to be penalized for benching players. Sure, it’s a long season. Too long, in fact. You can’t force guys to play through injuries.

But say you’re a hardworking basketball fan in Utah. You finally get a drop of good news that the team is acquiring a top talent in Jackson, just to see he’s shut down for the season.

Or worse. Say you’re a basketball fan in Billings, Montana. Obviously, you might not have a strong rooting interest in a specific team. But you sit down to watch Cooper Flagg, one of the future faces of the league, suit up for the Mavericks. And he’s on the court by himself because Dallas traded away Anthony Davis to the Washington Wizards (who are likely shutting him down for the season) and Irving is out for the year as well.

The NBA is a league that exists because of star players. Just ask Magic Johnson and Larry Bird, who revived the league nearly by themselves. Or ask LeBron James, who has dealt with the pressure of being the face of basketball since Michael Jordan retired.

The league can’t afford their superstars sitting so greedy teams can tank for draft picks. There’s no reason to tune into games. Being a bad team is one thing. But intentionally holding guys out? That’s where the real issue lies.