NBA struggles to contain tanking by Jazz, Grizzlies
Why it matters: The NBA's tanking problem has escalated into an "arms race" among at least eight teams this season.
- Utah Jazz signed Andersson Garcia and Bez Mbeng, playing them significant minutes despite their G League backgrounds, resulting in the team being outscored by 69 points in Garcia's 169 minutes and minus-146 with Mbeng on the floor this month.
- Memphis Grizzlies have started an NBA-record 25 different players this season, deploying a similar strategy by signing and overusing players like Lucas Williamson, Adama Bal, and Lawson Lovering.
- Oklahoma City Thunder is identified by NBA sources as the originator of this strategy, notably signing and overplaying non-NBA level talents like Georgios Kalaitzakis, Melvin Frazier, and Zavier Simpson in 2021-22, which helped them secure the fourth-worst record and draft Chet Holmgren.
- NBA executives and coaches, including Golden State Warriors coach Steve Kerr, express dislike for the tanking phenomenon, with Kerr stating, "I hate it," yet many acknowledge it as the most prudent path for struggling teams.
The NBA is grappling with a "strange phenomenon" of strategic tanking, where struggling teams like the Utah Jazz and Memphis Grizzlies are signing and overplaying G League players to intentionally lose games and improve draft lottery odds. This tactic, reportedly pioneered by the Oklahoma City Thunder, is widely disliked by coaches and executives but acknowledged as an effective, albeit controversial, team-building strategy.
