It took three days for the NBA trade deadline to pass and the reality of the NBA’s second half to slap us in the face. Buckle up, not because a fierce playoff race is about to dominate the stretch run, but because we’re about to see a Tankapalooza like no other.
With two months left in the regular season, there are eight teams fiercely racing to the bottom of the standings, hoping to improve their lottery odds and win the right to draft a franchise-changing prospect. The competition tipped off, in earnest, on Saturday, when the Utah Jazz benched their entire starting frontcourt and blew a 17-point lead in the fourth quarter to lose the game. In other words, let the games begin.
In case you haven’t heard, the 2026 draft class is absolutely loaded, with generational talents like Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa tempting teams to completely bottom out. It’s not an exaggeration to say that these next eight weeks could affect a team’s next eight years and beyond. But just how much tanking can each franchise stomach? We’re about to find out.
It’s probably not a good sign that the race to the bottom is more interesting than the race to the top, but that’s the corner Adam Silver and the NBA have backed themselves into. Now that losing has suddenly become a massive priority for nearly a third of the league, The Ringer decided to preview the, um, competition. Here’s a look at the NBA’s eight worst teams (that own their first-round pick—sorry, Pelicans), who will do their best to look even worse down the stretch. We’ll start with the tanking squad with the best record that’s still bizarrely twisting to the whims of He Who Shall Not Be Named …
Milwaukee Bucks
Record: 21-30
Remaining strength of schedule rank: 14th
Pick details: The less favorable between their own pick and the Pelicans' 2026 pick
How ethical is the Bucks’ tank? Ethical tanking! Actual LOL. Kudos to whoever coined such a wonderfully absurd and self-negating phrase. If we’re ranking the egregiousness of a team’s tank, the Bucks are pretty low on the scale right now. Their pitiful record is wholly unintentional and, indeed, detrimental to their most critical mission: keeping their superstar happy. (Which, last we checked, wasn’t going so well, either.) To be clear: The Bucks are losing because they failed to build a competent roster around Giannis “I want to be traded, but I refuse to say so publicly” Antetokounmpo.
But now that the season is lost, the Bucks’ best option is to embrace the tank and pray to the lottery gods. One lucky bounce might convince Giannis to stay. Or it could deliver his replacement. But to tank effectively, they’ll have to shut him down even after his injured calf is healed, which Giannis will almost certainly resist, creating yet another tension point between the franchise and its disillusioned star.
What’s their most blatant tanking method? Shutting down Giannis, obviously. Kevin Porter Jr. and Cam Thomas will take it from there.
What’s their most stealth tanking method? Letting Giannis come back after he’s healed but limiting his minutes (in the name of “injury management”). Kevin Porter Jr. and Cam Thomas will take it from there.
Can you give us one reason to watch this team again this season? Cam Thomas makes some seriously amazing, insanely tough shots. He also misses some seriously amazing, insanely tough shots.
Who should this team send to the lottery for good luck? Thanasis Antetokounmpo. Duh. —Howard Beck
Memphis Grizzlies
Record: 20-32
Remaining strength of schedule rank: 15th
Pick details: Own their own first-rounder
How ethical is the Grizzlies’ tank? Very. Given their trying circumstances, the Grizzlies are doing what any smart team in their position should. They’re self-aware enough to cut their losses and completely accept the fact that their one-time franchise pillars (Ja Morant, Jaren Jackson Jr., and Desmond Bane) weren’t sturdy enough to lead them anywhere meaningful in the hypercompetitive Western Conference. If there was ever a time to pivot, it’s right now. Memphis should absolutely bottom out and collect as much draft capital as it can while young teams like the San Antonio Spurs, Houston Rockets, and Oklahoma City Thunder ascend. Cedric Coward and Zach Edey are an intriguing enough foundation with decent enough upside. But to get where they really want to go someday, taking an indisputable game changer in this year’s draft wouldn’t hurt.
What’s their most blatant tanking method? Trading away JJJ before the deadline.
What’s their most stealth tanking method? Not trading away Morant before the deadline.
Can you give us one reason to watch this team again this season? Coward absolutely rules and will be first-team All-Rookie in a season when that honor actually means something. It’ll be fun to watch him become the face of a new chapter in Grizzlies history.
Who should this team send to the lottery for good luck? Screw it, Tee Morant. —Michael Pina
Dallas Mavericks
Record: 19-33
Remaining strength of schedule rank: 12th
Pick details: Own their own first-rounder
How ethical is the Mavericks’ tank? One year ago, the Mavericks made such a historically dumb all-in move that it actually forced them to tank the rest of the season. Trading away Luka Doncic was about as unethical as it gets. But the gods took pity, and the Mavericks hit on a 1.8 percent chance and miraculously won the 2025 lottery. Now they have Cooper Flagg, which would be enough, if not for the massive grave dug by Nico Harrison. After trading away Anthony Davis, the Mavs are positioned to tank once again, while also balancing the continued development of Flagg. Since they fired Nico, that seems ethical enough. Plus, the chance to watch Flagg alongside another generational talent is something all basketball fans can get behind.
What’s their most blatant tanking method? Shutting down Flagg. Usually, playing a teenager would help a tanking effort, but the NBA’s youngest player is already one of its best.
What’s their most stealth tanking method? Preventing Kyrie Irving from returning this season and letting Klay Thompson try to break his single-game 3-point record every night.
Can you give us one reason to watch this team again this season? Seeing Point Flagg play is like watching a dinosaur hatch. He’s just figuring things out, and his game and confidence are quickly reaching mammoth heights. The rest of Dallas’s season is basically just Flagg playing 2K in Career Mode and trying to improve his game. Everything else is background noise.
Who should this team send to the lottery for good luck? I’m sending Mark Cuban with a Jack-from-Lost scraggly beard and glassy eyes. WE WERE NEVER SUPPOSED TO LEAVE! WE HAVE TO GO BACK! —Matt Dollinger
Utah Jazz
Record: 17-37
Remaining strength of schedule rank: 24th
Pick details: Top-eight-protected pick (conveying to Oklahoma City otherwise)
How ethical is the Jazz’s tank? What constitutes ethics in the act of tanking is in the eye of the beholder, isn’t it? As someone radicalized by Sam Hinkie’s Trust the Process Sixers, I believe that the most ethical way to tank is for a front office to intentionally render an NBA roster so utterly production deficient as to force people to wonder whether it could defeat [insert NCAA team here]. That way, the burden falls squarely on the team president and/or general manager. The players are still playing their asses off; the coach is still trying to build and retain morale—it’s an issue of structure, not wholesale corruption.
The ethics begin to fray as soon as the list of accomplices grows from there. Utah, which has lost 22 of its past 28 games, made an utterly fascinating deadline trade for Jaren Jackson Jr., instilling a proper talent base for the team’s 2026-27 season and beyond. JJJ looked great in his debut on Saturday, in a game against Orlando that saw Utah lead by as many as 17 points in the third quarter. And then he vanished, as did his new teammates Lauri Markkanen and Jusuf Nurkic. Head coach Will Hardy pulled all of them for the entirety of the fourth quarter. The Jazz ultimately lost by three points.
On one hand, it’s great to see the front office, coaching staff, and players all in alignment on their ultimate goal for the season. On the other, the Jazz made an in-game manipulation of the conditions for good-faith competition in a way that creates ripple effects in both lottery odds and the odds market. Are they the first to do so? Absolutely not. But like I said, it’s all in the eye of the beholder. Is it worse to continue to play your most talented players during games and then pull them out on a whim, or to shut down stars for vaguely plausible injuries and keep them off the court altogether? The Jazz won’t win any popularity contests with their scheming, but if the league is at all serious about tanking reform, the team seems happy to serve as a pressure test.
What’s their most blatant tanking method? As we’ve established, the Jazz acquired a two-time All-Star and All-Defensive first-teamer last week, let him play for three quarters, and then benched him, as well as another top-50 player, during a fourth quarter in which the team held a not-insignificant lead. The dark arts of tanking typically use subtext and plausible deniability as substrates; the Jazz pissed so many people off on Saturday because they practically freebased tanking live on television.
What’s their most stealth tanking method? Svi Mykhailiuk has started nearly as many games (41) for the Jazz this season as he did in his previous five seasons combined (42)—playing for seven different teams.
Can you give us one reason to watch this team again this season? Well, if Jackson isn’t going to be shelved for the season, it’ll be pretty fun seeing him build chemistry with players like Keyonte George and Markkanen. JJJ’s size, spacing, and driving ability ought to allow the Jazz to dictate matchups and create mismatch opportunities moving forward. And should things hold, the Jazz have essentially created the 36-minute game. You’re free to switch over to another game as soon as the third quarter ends—they won’t keep your precious attention hostage.
Who should this team send to the lottery for good luck? Ace Bailey, whom the Jazz drafted at no. 5 last year, even though Utah had the worst record in 2024-25 and a 52.1 percent chance of getting a top-four pick. See, the Jazz tried doing things ethically. They were absolutely awful last year and practically sacrificed Cody Williams, their baby fawn of a rookie, in the process of tanking for Cooper Flagg. They weren’t rewarded for it; they were punished. Let Bailey beam his big, youthful smile at the camera. Let him be a visual reminder to the league: We tried doing things the “right” way. Until you change the rules or until we land the no. 1 pick for the first time in franchise history, we’ll do things our way. —Danny Chau
Brooklyn Nets
Record: 15-37
Remaining strength of schedule rank: 16th
Pick details: Own their own first-rounder
How ethical is the Nets’ tank? I had a whole blurb written about how the Nets’ tank job was fairly ethical. They’ve had a brutal schedule, and they’ve played some competitive games against good teams and beat up on the Jazz and Wizards when they had the chance. They even held on to Michael Porter Jr. at the trade deadline. But then I got an alert that Porter and Egor Demin were downgraded to out for Monday night’s game against the Bulls, and I in turn must downgrade this tank to unethical. It’s a pity to see one of the harder-playing bad teams throw its hat in with the most blatant anticompetitive outfits.
What’s their most blatant tanking method? Shutting down MPJ is such an obvious answer that the Nets have already started to do it.
What’s their most stealth tanking method? Point Danny Wolf.
Can you give us one reason to watch this team again this season? Egor Demin shot 47 percent from 3 in January. Assuming he rejoins the lineup soon, it’ll be interesting to watch him build on what’s quietly been a strong rookie season.
Who should this team send to the lottery for good luck? Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Thankfully, the Nets have finally learned not to trade away their first-rounders. —Isaac Levy-Rubinett
Washington Wizards
Record: 14-38
Remaining strength of schedule rank: 11th
Pick details: Top-eight-protected pick (conveying to the Knicks otherwise)
How ethical is the Wizards’ tank? It’s … fine. The Wizards traded for Trae Young and Anthony Davis in a couple of moves that were clearly designed to lift this team to a higher level next season. In the meantime, they have every right to be terrible and do their best to add an actual franchise player from this year’s draft to an intriguing young core that lacks any obvious piece worth building around. It’s also kinda hard to parse the difference between “tanking” and “losing,” as this group simply doesn’t have enough talent to win even a sliver of the games left on its schedule.
What’s their most blatant tanking method? Young was acquired one month ago and has yet to make his Wizards debut. The team traded for Davis last week and immediately sent him back to Dallas to rehab a hand injury that—regardless of what Washington’s front office says—will be milked for everything it's worth.
What’s their most stealth tanking method? Um, playing Will Riley and Jamir Watkins a combined 90 minutes in last weekend’s blowout loss to the Brooklyn Nets should do the trick.
Can you give us one reason to watch this team again this season? Kyshawn George is a pretty good basketball player who’s made a significant leap in his second season. He loosely averages around 15 points, five rebounds, and five assists per game and has increasingly impressive feel with the ball in his hands and smooth shotmaking ability inside the arc. George commits way too many fouls and can stand to get better in just about every area of the game, but he’s got positional size and real toughness on his side. The arrow is clearly pointing up.
Who should this team send to the lottery for good luck? I have two options. The first is Anthony Gill, Washington’s longest-tenured player. Is anyone in the league more due for a break than him? It’s hard to say. My second pick is G-Wiz. Get well soon, legend. —Pina
Indiana Pacers
Record: 13-40
Remaining strength of schedule rank: 19th
Pick details: Top-four-protected pick (conveying to the Clippers if it falls between five and nine) and a 10-30-protected pick
How ethical is the Pacers’ tank? We’re approaching Gandhi levels here. The Pacers were essentially forced to tank for the first time in franchise history because their best player valiantly put his career on the line and tore his Achilles in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Add in Myles Turner’s stunning departure and a half dozen injuries, and this team was in shambles by opening night. The only silver lining? Five days before Tyrese Haliburton’s injury, during the Finals, in one of the shrewdest trades in sports history, the Pacers reacquired their 2026 first-round pick from the Pelicans. Joe Dumars probably didn’t even think twice. But after Hali’s injury, that pick turned into gold, going from a likely mid-to-late 20s selection to a potential top-five pick. Keep in mind, the Pacers have never had the top pick. But after trading for Ivica Zubac at the deadline and promising the Clippers that coveted pick if it falls between five and nine in the lottery, the Pacers have every incentive to make the wrong kind of history.
What’s their most blatant tanking method? Preserving Pascal Siakam. Indiana pushed hard for Siakam to be an All-Star amid a lost season, but now the Pacers need to push him even harder to take it easy. Indy might need to shut him down to finish with a bottom-three record. Another option: Indiana also could consider re-re-re-re-re-signing Lance Stephenson. Give him the keys, Carlisle!
What’s their most stealth tanking method? Pacing Siakam. Indiana is just 1-10 in games this season in which Siakam fails to score 20 points. Maybe Indy can keep his cardio up and his scoring down?
Can you give us one reason to watch this team again this season? What, not a big Micah Potter guy? The Johnny Furphy injury shows that the dark cloud hanging over the Pacers since Game 7 has yet to clear. But T.J. McConnell trying his absolute damnedest is always worth your attention.
Who should this team send to the lottery for good luck? Haliburton. The one who sacrificed himself to the basketball gods for the love of the game. Hopefully the ping-pong gods are kinder. —Dollinger
Sacramento Kings
Record: 12-43
Remaining strength of schedule rank: 29th
Pick details: Own their own first-rounder
How ethical is the Kings’ tank? Fortunately for basketball purists, the Kings have been absolutely awful this season the old-fashioned way: by compounding terrible decision after terrible decision in an effort to cover up previous terrible decisions. Replacing Mike Brown with Doug Christie went just as you would have expected. DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Russell Westbrook never made any sense together. Other leagues relegate teams that display Sacramento’s levels of incompetence. Instead, the NBA will reward the Kings with another opportunity to fumble the bag.
What’s their most blatant tanking method? Existing.
What’s their most stealth tanking method? Existing.
Can you give us one reason to watch this team again this season? Believe it or not, I’ll give you two. First, a Russell Westbrook triple-double still brings the euphoric electricity of nostalgia, even when it leads to total carnage. And second, you get to watch Vivek get curved by pop stars who use him to watch the opposing team. Sign me up.
Who should this team send to the lottery for good luck? Honestly, no one deserves that shame. —Logan Murdock
