Have you ever been out to dinner and the server waiting on you is just going through the motions? Have you ever gone grocery shopping and the cashier checking you out barely manages to smile and otherwise fails to notice your existence?
That’s perfectly okay. Whether they’re basketball players or busboys, people are stuck in everyday jobs and can’t always be bothered to give 110% as they hand pack your Rice-A-Roni, hustle back for defense or bring you that third glass of water they’re getting an 18% gratuity regardless of how quickly the get it to you.
While it is perfectly admirable to hold people to a higher standard, as sports fans we expect the best out of our athletes every night out. Without fail, no exceptions. And before you argue salary disparities, I’d counter that we’re more directly responsible for a server’s salary than any NBA player. We also expect the same from the men and women running those franchises and question when their commitment doesn’t match ours.
The irony exists, however, in that sometimes, with losing, comes winning.
The strategy of “tanking,” bad teams “intentionally” losing games to better position themselves in upcoming drafts with the hopes of finding the next generational talent, is nothing new but has gained attention, and with it, resentment. Thanks to this latest groundswell, every news outlet has offered not only a take but a remedy. Welcome to the era of overreaction.
I’m not sure how this anti-tanking sentiment picked up such steam and am not sure why we’re suddenly so offended by bad teams losing. Companies declare bankruptcy all the time and justify it as a sound business decision so what’s the harm in the Jazz losing eight straight games to try to draft Cameron Boozer?
Here’s a spoiler alert for you. The bad teams you pay good money to see were probably going to lose anyway.
I would also like to remind everyone that number one picks don’t bring championships. Since 1998, only two NBA players drafted number one have brought a title to the team that drafted them. One of those players (LeBron) left and came back. The other (Kyrie) needed LeBron to come back to do so.
Therein lies the rub.
We saw this “process” backfire in Philadelphia where year after year, the 76ers put forth a bad team with the hopes of landing higher draft picks, which they did. The problem is that the Sixers never came remotely close to a title, thanks in large part to Kawhi Leonard.
So why are we so obsessed with teams tanking? NFL teams do it all the time. The Dolphins once tanked for Tua and we’ve seen how that worked out. As of today, he’s looking for a job. Perhaps tanking is Keynesian karma biting franchises in the ass for not putting forth their best efforts.
Despite fines by the league office, NBA teams continue to tank, allegedly, despite no guarantee of a greater future. Losing barely guarantees an opportunity of a brighter future if you can’t get the pick right. The Wizards haven’t won a playoff series in almost ten years but have had six top ten draft picks over that time. So where exactly does the problem lie? On it or off it?
If I’m a fan of a sub-par basketball team and I spend my hard-earned money on a ticket, I’m aware that the team I’m paying to see is going to lose, especially if I’m seeing them play against a better team. Sadly, I’ve been doing this with my Orlando Magic FOR YEARS!
Furthermore, I’m taking advantage of the fact that tickets are reasonably affordable because when teams get good, supply and demand dictates those seats will be harder to come by. There’s a reason only Denzel Washington can afford tickets to see the Knickerbockers.
While pundits litter every podcast and program offers ingenious ways to prevent tanking, just read Mark Cuban’s tell-all Tweet and take a chill.
People are all in arms because the former Mavericks owner admitted that his team lost games on purpose because it made good business sense. If I’m a Giants fan, God forbid, and I know my team enters the last game of the season playing another team with chances at the top draft pick, and I know a generational, perhaps franchise-changing player will be the first man taken, you’re damn right I want my team to lose. In fact, I’m pissed off if they win, which makes no sense since the inexact science of drafting quarterbacks takes about six years to come to fruition. Example: Sam Darnold.
So why all the fuss? The NBA continues to address the concern by changing the amount of draft day ping pong balls and levying fines on teams for losing games they probably would have lost anyway. What the league can’t do is eliminate the inherent premise that losing is sometimes good for a franchise.
What the league should do is remind tanking teams to do so at their own peril, for with every Victor Wembanyama, there’s five Michael Olowakandis in waiting.
Does the league have a competitive balance problem? Absolutely. But that’s as American as apple pie and Chevrolet. On any given night, is it as likely that the Washington Wizards will beat the Oklahoma City Thunder as it is the New York Jets over the Seattle Seahawks? Who’s to say? But until these franchises get their heads out of their rears and start running their organizations the right way, we’re going to have bad teams getting worse instead of getting better.
It’s the owners, not the system, you should be lambasting. Voice your dissent appropriately. Protest games. Don’t go. Or just say fuck it and enjoy an affordable night out.
I liv in Indiana, which means this season has been a Tyrese Haliburton-less Bataan Basketball Death March. One man’s “tanking” is another’s “three nights a week at 7:30.”