The league is looking for remedies with an epic waiver from the 2026 draft
One of the biggest talking points in the NBA the league’s losing streak has been a problem in recent seasons, with teams intentionally losing games to improve their draft lottery odds. With a talented 2026 class coming up, many teams have already initiated those efforts, with the Utah Jazz shamelessly pulling their starters to help themselves lose a game to the Orlando Magic over the weekend.
Of course, the biggest losers in this dilemma are NBA fans, who aren’t spending their hard-earned money to see G-League players on the court while the starters languish on the bench.
Recently, NBA insider Marc Stein reported on the league’s latest thought process regarding the tanker issue.
“League sources are speaking Stein’s line that the search for cures was indeed a prominent topic of discussion at the NBA’s most recent competition committee meeting in late January,” Stein reported on his Substack.
Stein also noted that he would “naturally expect (Commissioner Adam Silver) to get more questions about the league’s tanking issues than any other topic” at his upcoming All-Star weekend media availability.
In addition to the Jazz, the Washington Wizards have also drawn criticism for ruling Anthony Davis out for the rest of the year after recently trading him from the Dallas Mavericks, while the Brooklyn Nets are also going full steam ahead in an effort to lose games the rest of the way.
The NBA has already tried to address this problem by reducing lottery odds in recent years, resulting in postseason teams receiving the number one overall pick in two consecutive drafts over the past few seasons.
However, that clearly hasn’t deterred teams from putting objectively pathetic products on the floor to slightly increase their chances of landing a blue-chip prospect come June.
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2026-02-09 21:02:00
