Charlotte Bobcats: Does Tanking Really Work?
Tanking–a word that makes anyone with any competitive fire cringe. So you’re telling me we’re supposed to get better by throwing away games? Well, according to some math geeks, yes. The more games you lose, the more balls you have in the NBA lottery. The more balls you have in the lottery the better chances of you landing a top draft pick. The better chances of you landing a top draft pick increase your chances of landing an All-Star player. More All-Star players equal more wins. That logic makes sense, doesn’t it?
Well according to Michael Jordan, tanking is not in his DNA. Can you blame him? Losing was definitely not in his genes in the ’90s. MJ told ESPN, “It’s not guaranteed [the player] you are going to get is going to be that star anyway. I did read that certain teams are thinking about doing it, but I’m not one of them. So let’s alleviate that conversation.” The Bobcats actions support their owner’s statement; signing double-double machine Al Jefferson was no move for a “tanking” team.
Personally I am against tanking. Yes, mathematically your chances of gaining great talent increase, but I think we are overlooking some downsides to losing games on purpose. If you are a player on a team that is in full “tanking” mode what can your mindset be? It must be hard to be motivated day in and day out knowing that you are not really given a chance to succeed. Additionally, looking at it from an economics standpoint you will be taking a hit. Most of the teams in tanking situations are not big market teams. They have a hard time selling tickets in the first place. So if you have a team filled with no names in a small market, good luck selling tickets.
Are Wiggins and Parker worth a wasted season? (Wikimedia Commons/Tony the Tiger)
The second question to ask is: Does tanking lead to championships? The answer might surprise you: No. The NBA introduced its lottery system in 1985. So, we’ve had 28 No. 1 picks under the lottery system. Guess how many of those number one picks have won a NBA title for the team they’ve been drafted by? Two. Yup, just two of 28 No. 1 picks have won titles for the team they got drafted by. That is a 7 percent success rate. Can you guess those two players? Tim Duncan and David Robinson. Those Spurs got it right, didn’t they? Here is another shocking statistic: only one team has won a NBA title after it has won a NBA lottery. That team would be the San Antonio Spurs. Historically, first overall picks have won their titles when playing for different teams. As the history of the NBA draft has shown, you can draft All-Stars and Hall of Famers outside the top five picks. It just takes time to develop players and build a winning team. So, just ask yourself: Is the No. 1 pick really worth the trouble?
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