The unstoppable battle for tanking in the NBA has already begun

The impact of tanking in the NBA has significantly diminished in recent times due to the play-in inclusion and Draft lottery reformulation, but it remains inevitable that some franchises see letting go, losing games, and dreaming of a spot in the next Draft as the ideal option. That's what's already happening this season.

It will always be there, no matter how uncomfortable. Tanking is intrinsic to the NBA, and we must learn to live with it. It's becoming more subtle, with fewer teams passionately embracing it, but at this stage of the season, we already see a good number of franchises willingly accepting each defeat and not putting much effort into avoiding them. There are great talents coming in the 2025 NBA Draft, like Cooper Flag, and the goal is to reach the lottery with many tickets.

- Eastern Conference

There are four teams that have completely given up on competition, embarking on an uncompetitive drift that may involve reconstruction trades. The Washington Wizards, Charlotte Hornets, Toronto Raptors, and Brooklyn Nets are aware that they won't gain anything positive from winning games and are already thinking about the future.

- Western Conference

Things are somewhat more ambiguous here as only three teams have a strong commitment to giving up on competing to focus on the Draft. The New Orleans Pelicans, Portland Trail Blazers, and Utah Jazz are starting long-term reconstruction processes, aiming to expedite them with the selection of some of the great talents landing in the league next year. No other team is expected to join unless the Sacramento Kings make a star trade and choose to think about the future.

This news is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, La imparable batalla por el tanking en la NBA ya se ha desatado