NBA Slaps Indiana Pacers with $100,000 Fine for Star Player Removal
The Indiana Pacers have been fined $100,000 by the NBA for removing some of their star players during a recent game, a move that underscores the league's persistent issue with "tanking." This penalty follows a similar $500,000 fine imposed on the Utah Jazz last month for not using their best players at the end of a contest, as the NBA grapples with teams deliberately losing to secure better draft picks.
The Bizarre Logic of Tanking in Professional Basketball
Imagine a scenario where a Premier League club, free from relegation threats, faces a draft every June featuring the world's top teenage talents like Barcelona's Lamine Yamal or Real Madrid's Franco Mastantuono. In this alternate universe, finishing lower in the standings increases the odds of landing a transformative player, creating a perverse incentive to lose. This mirrors the NBA's current dilemma, where the logical strategy for struggling franchises often involves resting key players to improve their draft position.
Since the start of February, the NBA's seven worst teams have combined for a dismal record of 20 wins and 87 defeats, with 13 of those victories occurring when two of these struggling squads faced each other. While not all losses are intentional, players like the Brooklyn Nets' Michael Porter Jr. have voiced concerns, stating, "I don't like how teams are deliberately trying to tank to get a good draft pick."
A Perfect Storm of Superstar Talent and Destigmatized Behavior
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has acknowledged that tanking behavior has worsened this season, attributing it to a "perfect storm" driven by the anticipation of four college superstars in June's draft: Darryn Peterson of Kansas, AJ Dybantsa of BYU, Cameron Boozer of Duke, and Caleb Wilson of North Carolina. Silver emphasized, "Are we seeing behavior that is worse this year than we've seen in recent memory? Yes, is my view. There's been a destigmatisation around certain behaviors ... the guardrails have come off a little bit. We are going to make substantial changes for next year."
Academic studies from 2021 analyzed NBA games from 2006 to 2018, finding empirical evidence that teams tank by resting healthy players, especially after playoff elimination. However, this season has seen more teams losing earlier and more frequently, prompting widespread calls for action.
The Draft System: A Double-Edged Sword for Parity
In theory, the NBA draft promotes parity by allowing underperforming teams to acquire elite talent, as seen with the San Antonio Spurs, who transformed from a bottom-dweller to title contenders after drafting Victor Wembanyama and others. Similarly, the New England Patriots in the NFL rebounded from poor seasons to reach the Super Bowl. This system, combined with salary caps, fosters competitiveness unseen in leagues like the Bundesliga or Ligue 1, where only a handful of teams dominate.
Yet, the incentives to fail are stronger in the NBA due to the impact of one or two superstars in a five-starter lineup. Being a middle-ranked team is arguably the worst position—not competitive enough for championships but not bad enough to secure generational draft talent.
Proposed Solutions and Inherent Challenges
Various solutions have been proposed to curb tanking. Some suggest preventing teams from having top-four draft picks in consecutive years, while others advocate for flattening the lottery odds to cap any team's chance at the first pick at 10%. From a European perspective, the 82-game NBA season is criticized as too long, encouraging disinterest among eliminated teams; a reduced 58-game schedule could help, but commercial pressures make this unlikely. Relegation, though effective in other sports, remains a distant possibility for the NBA.
Ultimately, as long as losing teams are rewarded with higher draft picks, the incentive to tank will persist. For franchise leaders, the temptation to participate in what some call "Tankapolooza" remains a logical, if controversial, strategy in pursuit of future glory.
