Indiana Pacers embrace tanking as ultimate commitment to winning

Indiana native Mark Cuban knows a thing or two about tanking and being at odds with the NBA. Last week, the ex-owner of the Dallas Mavericks came out in favor of tanking on Twitter, posting a long message where he shared recollections about the pursuit of Luka Doncic and advised the league to put more of an emphasis on not pricing fans out of tickets as opposed to cracking down on what teams due to try and improve their roster.

Suns owner Mat Ishbia, responding to a Yahoo!Sports story ranking tanking teams, called the practice “losing behavior done by losers.”

I wouldn’t classify the defending Eastern Conference champions as losers. In fact, the Indiana Pacers are winners making the most of their plight and taking advantage of the current system. They’re looking to use the opportunity created by the unfortunate Achilles tear guard Tyrese Haliburton suffered in Game 7 of last June’s NBA Finals in order to get back there as quickly as possible.

Why the NBA should embrace tanking -

The NBA has kate been misguided thinking that fans want to see their teams compete every night with a chance to win. It’s never been that way that way.

When I got into the nba, they thought they were in the basketball business. They…
— Mark Cuban (@mcuban) February 17, 2026

There are 13 Indiana players listed on Tuesday’s injury report for its game against the Philadelphia 76ers. Jarace Walker, Ben Sheppard and new acquisition Kobe Brown don’t appear. All-Star Pascal Siakam appears with a new ailment, listed as 'doubtful' due to a left wrist sprain.

The Pacers have added 7-foot center Ivica Zubac to the mix and will probably allow him to suit up in March to get his feet wet after he finally joined the team on the bench for the first time on Sunday. If the Pacers were looking to compete for a playoff spot, he’d be playing, but since they’re not, he’ll take his time coming back from a knock. That’s what the system encourages. Don’t hate the player or the game. Hate the system.

Bennedict Mathurin, moved in the Zubac deal, has become L.A.’s second option as a scorer despite being used as a reserve. The Pacers moved him off the roster because they have tunnel vision on coming to training camp next fall with a championship in mind. In order to land Zubac, Indiana had to part with a lottery pick, but only if it lands in the 5-to-9 range. Was that a mistake? Only if it lands in the 5-to-9 range.

It wasn’t by design that guys Aaron Nesmith was out of the lineup early or that Obi Toppin was lost for the season, but the Pacers’ awful start put them in a position where it would be acting irresponsibly towards its fan base by attempting to win games down the stretch.

That’s where we currently are in the NBA. Most people despise it. Commissioner Adam Silver has pledged to alter the system next season. One rumored tweak is to prohibit conference finalists from the previous season from having a Top-4 pick, presumably to not stack their teams.

Commissioner Adam Silver informed the league's 30 general managers on Thursday that the NBA plans to make anti-tanking rule changes for next season, sources tell ESPN. Stakeholders have intensified dialogue about combatting tanking.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 19, 2026

It’s easy to forget the Mavs were in the conference finals in 2024 because Nico Harrison traded Luka Doncic, but they won the lottery and ended up with Cooper Flagg. The Pacers would love to have this be the lone season they’re worrying about a high draft pick for the next decade, but since they’re in this situation prior to any upcoming rule change, they’re obligated to make the most of it.

On Sunday, the Mavericks were ironically in Indiana for a date with the Pacers in what ended up being a very entertaining game. Dallas won 134-130 despite Flagg sitting. Just over an hour before tip, Siakam and guard Andrew Nembhard were ruled in after wearing a ‘questionable’ label all day.

We should get used to the Pacers' injury reports looking like week-long grocery lists. Siakam won’t play in both ends of back-to-backs going forward. Considering he’s averaged 33.7 minutes per game in what’s been a doomed season, his highest total since arriving in Indiana, it’s hard to argue the Pacers have fabricated issues to have him sit the way Utah could be accused of holding Lauri Marrkanen out two seasons running.

Due to the quality of the 2026 draft class, every team not locked into a top-six seed has weighed the pros and cons of chasing a play-in berth against landing a spot in the lottery. Those sweet ping-pong balls delivered Dallas the opportunity to select Flagg and have a lot of difference-makers to work with this June, when the prospect will perk up for multiple franchises once Silver makes his trips to the podium.

Tanking has been prevalent in the NBA for decades, so Silver’s opinion that “it’s the worst he’s ever seen” has a tinge of recency bias and been magnified by social media and gambling. There’s a reason the lottery system has been implemented and then altered, and it’s tied to teams trying to lose via practices that were concerning enough to change the system.

This is ridiculous! Tanking is losing behavior done by losers. Purposely losing is something nobody should want to be associated with. Embarrassing for the league and for the organizations. And the talk about this as a “strategy” is ridiculous.

If you are a bad team, you get a… https://t.co/VoUx3YEdB5
— Mat Ishbia (@Mishbia15) February 19, 2026

The system apparently hasn’t been changed enough. The Pacers have the ability to maximize their chances of keeping a 2026 lottery pick. It would be crazy if they weren’t doing everything they’re doing to ensure that selection is made.

Ishbia is very wrong in the sense that tanking, in this specific scenario, is winning behavior done by a team driven to win it all.