Each week during the 2025-26 NBA season, we’ll take a deeper look at some of the league’s biggest storylines, trying to determine whether future trends are based more on fact or fiction.
last week: Thunder win at trade deadline
Fact or fiction: NBA’s response is enough to curb its tanking epidemic
The NBA’s tanking problem appears to be spreading earlier and earlier in the season, so much so that two teams were fined Thursday for violating the league’s tanking policy.
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In back-to-back games against the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat, the Utah Jazz ruled out Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. before the fourth quarter while the two former All-Stars remained questionable, and never reintroduced either former All-Star into the game. The Jazz lost a 17-point lead to the Magic 120-117 in the final 13 minutes and 49 seconds before defeating the Heat 115-111.
When asked how close he was to backing up Markkanen and Jackson, Jazz head coach Will Hardy said flatly, “I’m not,” blatantly tempting the league to take action against them.
As Miami’s Bam Adebayo, whose Heat were competing for a play-in spot, later admitted, “We have to find a way to beat teams that are, I guess you could say, trying to lose.”
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So here it goes: The Jazz clearly undermined the integrity of the game, opposing players reported them, and Utah was fined $500,000.
“This public behavior of prioritizing draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition, and we will respond accordingly to any further behavior that undermines the integrity of our game,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said at a news conference Thursday. “In addition, we are working with the Competition Committee and Board of Governors to take further steps to root out this type of behavior.”
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The league’s council is scheduled to meet in March, where tanks will be a hot topic.
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Jazz Governor Ryan Smith is worth an estimated $2.6 billion, which means that for someone with $5,000 in a savings account, $500,000 is roughly equivalent to $1. That’s not a disincentive, as the bonus on the other end of their tank job — considered a high-end pick in a high-money draft — can add hundreds of millions, if not billions, of dollars to the team’s value. Think about what Stephen Curry has done for the Golden State Warriors.
As long as losing in the NBA’s annual draft lottery is the way to get the most ping pong balls, teams with no hope of the playoffs will lose on purpose.
Jaren Jackson Jr. watches from the bench during the first half of a game against the Portland Trail Blazers at the Delta Center on February 12, 2026 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Alex Goodlett/Getty Images)
(Alex Goodlett via Getty Images)
This is an epidemic. As many as a third of the league’s teams are at risk of losing from now on, especially the Jazz and Washington Wizards, who owe their first-round picks to other teams if they don’t finish in the bottom eight. Each league’s playoff field has been largely determined — with two months remaining until the regular season. There is nothing left to play.
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The season is too long, and for financial reasons, team owners do not want to give up the regular season for ticket revenue. But what are they selling their fans? The stars were rested for all or part of these games, and the product was watered down at best. Worst case scenario? Some products are inherently rigged, with one or both teams trying to fail.
Do you think the Indiana Pacers being fined $100,000 for resting a healthy Pascal Siakam will deter Indiana from doing whatever it takes to acquire the rights to the top three picks in the draft and AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson or Cameron Boozer? Think again.
The Pacers hope and pray that DiBanza, Peterson or Boozer, or whoever they get, end up with a $500 million salary and be worth every penny to them.
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If the NBA has to fine teams, it has to ping pong fine them, knocking them into places where the lottery is valid and removing their incentive to lose. Teams learn quickly not to tank.
Maybe it’s time to abolish lotteries altogether. Make it a wheel. Drastic measures are needed to eradicate the serious problem. The NBA’s practices with gambling, salary cap circumvention and the All-Star Game are other issues, but this one appears to be solvable.
In fact, the Jazz scheduled Jackson for season-ending surgery to treat a non-cancerous growth in his knee. Although the surgery was necessary, Utah’s actions make us wonder if the team would have chosen to delay Jackson’s surgery if it had any incentive to win.
Likewise, the Wizards apparently traded Trae Young and Anthony Davis, reportedly intending to rest both stars for the remainder of the season. What will the NBA do to convince Young that his lingering quad injury is no longer an issue? Tell Davis not to worry about the hand and groin injuries he sustained with the Dallas Mavericks?
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It’s easy for teams to find reasons to rest their stars when they’re losing. Anyone can have soft tissue soreness, and no amount of investigation by the NBA will reveal otherwise.
So, what do you do if you are the NBA? Maybe incentivize winning. Give the first overall pick to the non-playoff team that wins the most games after the All-Star break, or something like that. It’s hardly a revolutionary idea, and would certainly lead to more questions (e.g., wouldn’t teams try to avoid playing in the tournament?), but it’s at least something.
There is something better than what we have now, and that’s a gamble billionaires are willing to take – accepting fines from the league in the hope of finding a franchise savior.
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Otherwise, fans will have to figure this out themselves and stop watching or tuning in to these games. On the other hand, paying $1,000 for a family of four to attend a game that may or may not feature a star player is a gamble that most fans probably don’t take anymore.
Determination: A novel. Obviously.
