With most NBA teams having fewer than 15 games remaining in their schedule, many of the worst teams in the league are taking tanking to another level. Several teams have opted to find creative ways to lose games, including sitting healthy players and prolonging injuries to keep them from having to play their best players.
One such team is the Toronto Raptors, who currently have the seventh worst record in the NBA but are in an unusual spot. They traded for an All-Star in Brandon Ingram more than a month ago, but the Raptors are actively trying to lose games to improve their draft pick.
Look no further than Ingram, who has curiously missed more than 2 months with an ankle sprain, something that usually heals in less than a month. They have even resorted to playing some awful lineups to try and improve their roster lottery pick.
The Toronto Raptors' tanking efforts are in serious jeopardy.
The Raptors ironically have the easiest remaining schedule in the NBA, with their remaining 13 opponents having a combined winning percentage of just .389. That's cakewalk levels of easy.
In fact, they play two games against the San Antonio Spurs, Charlotte Hornets, and Brooklyn Nets, as well as one game against the Chicago Bulls, Washington Wizards, and Philadelphia 76ers. All of those teams are projected to pick in the top half of the lottery and will similarly try to tank those games.
That will lead to a comical closing stretch for the Raptors, who could inadvertently go on a hot streak to close the season. They are already 6-4 in the last 10 games and ESPN's Basketball Power Index projects they will win seven of their last 13 games. That would give teams such as the Spurs and the Bulls a chance to catch them and hurt the Raptors' draft pick.
So what's the big deal? There isn't a big difference between the seventh and ninth picks, right? Well, in the 2025 NBA Draft, there is a big drop-off in terms of talent after the fourth pick. If the Raptors finish with the seventh-worst record, then they will have a 31.9% chance of jumping into the top four. Compare that to a 17.3% chance if they fall to, say, ninth.
Having a nearly one-in-three chance to walk away with Cooper Flagg, Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, or V.J. Edgecombe is far better than walking away with, say, Kon Knueppel. Adding one of those four players to a roster that features Scottie Barnes and Ingram as well as several other talented young players is worth the Raptors tanking.
Nevertheless, they will have to get more creative in the off-season with them having such an easy closing schedule.