Blame the NBA for Tanking, Not the Utah Jazz

After two straight games of deliberately resting starters in the fourth quarter of action against the Atlanta Hawks and most recently, the Orlando Magic, for their past two losses, the Utah Jazz are sitting at the forefront of the NBA’s “tanking” discussion.

While it’s a loaded conversation, it’s also an incredibly hypocritical one considering that the three best teams in the league right now by record— the Oklahoma City Thunder, Detroit Pistons, and San Antonio Spurs— all built their rosters on the backs of the very evil we’re talking about.

This isn’t saying that the NBA shouldn’t look at ways to prevent this issue going forward, but rather they should look for ways to incentivize winning, as opposed to punishing losing.

Tanking

Cooper Flagg Victor Wembanyam — Feb 5, 2026; Dallas, Texas, USA; San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) walks past Dallas Mavericks forward Cooper Flagg (32) during the second half at the American Airlines Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-Imagn Images | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

Let’s make this abundantly clear: any team purposefully hurting their chances of winning games in the short term is guilty.

Throw the term “ethical tanking” out the window, because regardless of the path a team takes, the goal is the same. There's no moral high ground in this conversation.

Tanking goes against the competitive spirit of sports. After all, the goal of sports is to win, so at its surface, teams trying to be bad is antithetical. However, with how major American sports leagues are geared towards competitive balance, it makes sense for teams looking for high-end talent to try to find that through the draft.

But tanking has been around forever, and it's not worth going through the endless examples.

Current Model

Embiid Simmon — Feb 21, 2021; Tampa, Florida, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) and guard Ben Simmons (25) talk against the Toronto Raptors during the first quarter at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-Imagn Images | Kim Klement-Imagn Images

In an effort to discourage teams from this (thanks, Sam Hinkie), the NBA flattened the lottery odds and now draws the first 4 spots in the event. This has had unintended consequences, though.

Last year, the Utah Jazz and Washington Wizards, who were the two worst teams by record, ended up picking fifth and sixth in the draft, while the Mavericks, who were one more play-in win away from making the playoffs, jumped past 10 teams with a worse record than them to land the already sensational Cooper Flagg. The Spurs, who'd picked in the top four the previous two years, jumped from 8th to 2nd in the order.

The result? Bad teams are forced to stay bad for longer in an attempt to get the high-end talent they'd hoped for, or simply being unable to take the step toward contention, even if they tried. It also incentivizes more teams, especially those on the fringes of the play-in tournament, to about-face and give themselves a better chance at winning the lottery, when otherwise only the worst teams would be battling it out.

This year, there are already at least seven teams that are jockeying for lottery position, and that doesn't include the New Orleans Pelicans, who can't get out of the cellar. It's early February! We still have over a third of the season to go, and more teams have punted than ever.

The other issue with the new lottery system is that it forces teams to worry more about their "floor" because there's a significant chance that teams will backslide in the order.

Jazz Discussion

Feb 7, 2026; Orlando, Florida, USA; Utah Jazz center Jaren Jackson Jr. (20) shoots during the second half against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike Watters-Imagn Images | Mike Watters-Imagn Images

Lastly, let's talk about the Jazz, because they are very much tanking to keep their pick this year. They owe a top-eight protected pick to the reigning champions, meaning if the Jazz land one through eight in the draft order, they'll keep their pick, and if it's outside of that window, it goes to OKC.

This is the last year that the pick is owed before the pick debt is extinguished. Frankly, it makes zero sense for the Jazz to give away a premium asset when they can prevent it, so that is what they'll do.

The reason the Jazz are talked about is because they have talent on their roster. Lauri Markkanen is an All-Star caliber player, while Keyonte George is already knocking on the door in his third season. If Walker Kessler hadn't injured his shoulder, the Jazz probably would've been a play-in caliber team this year and unavoidably conveyed the pick.

After trading for Jaren Jackson Jr. this past week, however, the Jazz are once again under the watchful eye of many. The Jazz are talented, poised for a surge up the standings next season, but also young and have a record of 16-37 and 9 games out of the last play-in spot.

Their options for this year are: strategically keep their pick by putting their young players in uncomfortable positions to develop, or they could push for the play-in, come up short, and give a top-10 pick to the reigning champions for nothing.

Hard decision, right?

Bottom Line

Feb 3, 2026; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Utah Jazz forward/center Lauri Markkanen (23) dribbles the ball in the first half against the Indiana Pacers at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

The NBA does have a tanking problem. It's bad for the product when a quarter of the league is attempting to lose games; however, they have nobody to blame but themselves for the way things are structured.

For the morality police of "ethical tanking," take a look in the mirror, because in all likelihood, your team would be, is, or has done the same thing that the Jazz are doing right now.

Frankly, each team should do what they deem as the best long-term plan for them, and that's what the Utah Jazz, and the rest of the teams around the association fighting for draft position, are doing.

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