Has Adam Silver fixed the tanking Issue?
Tanking in the NBA has been around since the beginning of the game. If you don't know what tanking is, it's when a team purposely loses games so they have a higher chance of getting the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. Teams in a rebuilding phase tend to do this in hopes of getting a young player that can turn their franchise around.
Since Adam Silver took over for David Stern as the NBA commissioner, he has wanted to try to stop teams from tanking games. Before 2019, the team with the worst record receive the highest lottery odds to secure the first overall pick in the upcoming draft. So in 2019, Silver implemented new rules to change the odds of getting lottery picks.
This change discourages teams from trying to lose every single game possible. Even if you were to lose all 82 games in a season, you are no longer guaranteed the highest odds to receive the first-overall pick. Silver stated that tanking is "something we keep an eye on" due to the fact the NBA brand is "selling competition to our fans." ("NBA Today," ESPN, 10/24/22).
NBA teams that go out onto the floor intending to lose won't sell many tickets. The fans want to see their favorite players compete for a win. So it doesn't only hurt their ticket sales, but it hurts their viewer count as well.
This year the NBA has seen teams that everyone thought would tank become competitive teams. Next year's draft features potential future superstar Victor Wembanyama, which is already looking like a clear favorite to go first overall. One of the teams that everyone thought was setting up for a tank season is the Utah Jazz.
During the off-season, the Jazz traded their two All-Star players, Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, for a total of seven first-round draft picks and three pick swaps. Utah also got lots of young role players to develop. The Jazz have three picks in this upcoming draft, including one of their own. Danny Ainge, the Utah Jazz's general manager, has set up the perfect future for the Utah Jazz and hopes to get high overall draft picks for years to come. However, the Jazz players have other ideas.
Instead of tanking, they currently have seven wins and only three losses and are the second-best team in the Western Conference. The Jazz have continued to prove that they are legit and have beaten multiple teams that are expected to make the playoffs this season. Lauri Markkanen is showing that he could be an all-star in this league and is leading this Jazz team filled with role players.
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Another team that is exceeding everyone's expectations is the San Antonio Spurs. During the off-season, the Spurs traded away their best player Dejounte Murray and received Danilo Gallinari and four first-round picks. During training camp, coach Gregg Popovich was interviewed and stated, "I probably shouldn't say this, but I'll say it anyway, what the hell? Nobody here should go to Vegas on the thought of betting on us to win the championship."
With the Spurs looking to be in rebuilding mode, even Pop thought the Spurs wouldn't be competitive. However, the Spurs currently have the ninth-best record in the Western Conference at 5-5. Coach Pop is one of the greatest coaches the NBA has and will ever see, so it's no surprise that he is coaching his team to a great record in this young NBA season. However, it is a surprise that they aren't playing worse to possibly have a chance at that number one overall draft pick.
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Overall, Silver's changes have been making an impact on the competitiveness of the NBA. Year after year, Silver continues to speak about the importance of keeping our game competitive and warns teams of purposefully tanking. It makes sense for these young teams to no longer try to lose every game of the season since it no longer guarantees the best draft odds.
It's better to develop the players you currently have on the roster instead of wasting an entire season to risk getting a lottery pick in the NBA Draft.
