Losing is the new winning, or so it may seem in professional sports. Sacrificing the season in order to create the possibility of gaining a better draft pick has become a strategy adopted by many teams, especially in the NBA. Although a higher draft pick may seem appealing for team executives, the notion of “tanking” may not be the brilliant solution that it is perceived to be.
With possibly the deepest upcoming rookie class in recent NBA history, the standout college freshmen such as Andrew Wiggins of Kansas, Jabari Parker of Duke, and Julius Randle of Kentucky, have left general managers around the league salivating. Obtaining just one of these players could be the difference maker between the playoffs and the couch.
The NBA has implemented a lottery system that collects the teams that missed the playoffs the previous season and ranks the teams by least amount of wins. The team with the lowest number of wins is given the greatest opportunity of winning the number one pick, but the key word there is “opportunity”. Being the best at losing is a considerable risk for franchises, at least in the NBA. The NFL throws a bone to the worst team and automatically gives them the number one pick. Statistically the worst team has a better chance, but still a slim chance. The worst team earns a 25 percent chance and the percentage decreases as the list continues.
The risk outweighs the reward when it comes to tanking a season for the sake of a draft pick, especially with an extremely deep draft class. Why strive to lose to get the first pick when there are plenty of great players available? It is, after all, only one pick. A team that hustles every game and fights for every possession, but still finds itself in lottery contention has no reason to feel down and out.
In fact, teams like the Cleveland Cavaliers, New Orleans Pelicans, and our own Washington Wizards, have all won the first pick in the previous drafts despite the fact that they were projected in the middle of the pack in the lottery. No fan wants to see their favorite team sacrifice an entire season for the draft. Aside from losing games, tanking would also affect ticket sales, concessions, and merchandise. In the NBA, the league awards teams a bonus depending on how far they go into the season, meaning the best teams have the highest bonuses, while the teams that do not meet playoff contention are left to figure it out on their own.
The idea of losing now to win later is not the brightest one that professional sports has ever seen, if a team trades away all of its essential parts, it should be for the sole purpose of landing superstars that have established themselves in the league, not for a chance to get a rookie who has not proven anything yet.
The difference between college basketball and the professional level is dramatic, the chances of making it are slim and the competition is ruthless. It is never a guarantee that a draft pick can drastically change a team, and a lot of high draft picks have gone on to surmount to nothing in the Association.
This trend must stop. Teams are sending a message that it is okay to lose as long as you get something in return for it. While some fans may be okay with the sacrifice of one season, when many teams follow the trend, the game becomes unentertaining and frustrating. After watching teams lose throughout the duration of the season, fans lose their morale for them. No fan wants to cheer for a team that feels sorry for itself.
Tanking should not be self-imposed, and if a team happens to lose and have a bad season. If a team loses on purpose for the sake of getting better, then the game of basketball is not what is used to be anymore.