The Milwaukee Bucks have suffered one of their worst seasons in franchise history. As of Wednesday, they are a league-worst 14-60. They only have a few more losses to go to notch the worst record in franchise history.
The Bucks have absolutely no one to build around and have a roster full of average players. It’s clear they will be the favorites to secure the number one overall pick in June’s draft.
At this point, are the Bucks just tanking to improve their chances? The issue of tanking has recently been a topic of discussion in the NBA.
It seems like a strategy that would work well. If you’re a team that’s rebuilding and have no chance of making the playoffs, doesn’t it make sense to lose on purpose? Why not lose to improve your future outlook?
The fact remains that the draft order of non-playoff teams is determined by a lottery. There’s no guarantee that the team with the worst record will automatically secure the 1st overall pick.
Having the worst record in the NBA has historically backfired on some teams. Since the weighted NBA draft lottery was introduced in 1990, the team with the worst record in the NBA has only secured the number one pick three times. In 2008, the Chicago Bulls only had a 1.70% chance of winning the lottery, but won and drafted Derrick Rose with the 1st overall pick.
Tanking for one specific player is a bad strategy because there’s always a chance that player will be selected before your team’s draft pick. Andrew Wiggins has recently declared and is the prize possession of this y
ear’s draft. He will likely go in the top three picks.
There’s some morality and ethical issues with tanking in my opinion. Losing on purpose would cause unintentional consequences, such as receiving a lower pick than expected, or selecting a bust. Tanking worsens team chemistry and creates bad habits for players, such as slacking, or taking their careers for granted.
Players should want to improve and stay competitive throughout the season, no matter how bad the record is. Coaches should have the motivation to win because their status in the NBA largely depends on the team’s win-loss record. It makes no sense for anybody to perform at a low level.
Watching players go through the motions on a nightly basis would cause the NBA to lose viewership. Fans have already shown their displeasure with the theory of tanking. Personally, I believe tanking is bad karma for teams because a team shouldn’t be rewarded for intentionally losing.
How can the NBA minimize the tanking movement? There’s already a system in place that counteracts against this, but it’s clear that teams still think it’s an effective strategy and look purely at the odds.
It’s hard to prove if a team is really tanking, and it can easily be misinterpreted as “rebuilding.” So, there’s nothing that commissioner Adam Silver can do. Except come out with a statement, and substitute “rebuilding” for “tanking.” That’s the real problem at hand. “Tanking” is “rebuilding” in the NBA, and this problem will persist until something is done.
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