[Sports Law Blog]Why Does Tanking Occur in the NBA but Seemingly Not in Other League?

You can thank Orlando for NBA teams tanking. When the Magic got the #1 overall pick after a 41-41 record in 1993, the NBA tweaked the lottery odds to increase the chances of the really bad teams. I guess they thought it would result in the bubble playoff teams to give more effort at the end of the season to make the playoffs, but it backfired and resulted in really bad teams tanking.

I like Van Gundy's recommendation of giving every team in the league an equal shot at the #1 pick, but with a few modifications.

First off, any team that was either a #1 or #2 seed is not included in the lottery. I mean, could you imagine Phoenix with Kevin Durant or Dallas with Greg Oden? That would be unfair. Now, if a team that makes the playoffs gets a top 3 pick, allow that team to trade the pick to any non playoff team, and any players that team gets in return will be luxury tax and salary cap exempt. That will give those teams an extra incentive to trade that pick. That way, instead of a playoff team taking on a project that might not get many minutes, the team could get that one missing piece to make another playoff run.

 

I don't think so, because rookie contracts are underpriced at high picks anyway, so you're not afraid of them. You can choose to not pick up the option years (years 3 and 4). You can choose to not sign the restricted free agent. So, by the time a team is asked to risk its future with a long-term, high-dollar contract, the player is a veteran. It seems to me the riskiest signings of this type is when you try to steal someone else's promising young star, not knowing them as well as his original team and not knowing how he'll fit on your team. It's easy to cut ties with a guy who doesn't pan out before that big contract. But, if you don't hold his rights in the first place, it is very hard and risky to acquire him.

 

16 games v 82 games.

in the nfl after 16 games and in a losing season players still have the energy and anger to try and prove something.

in the nba, night in, night out of losing after so many games, players become disheartened at the end.

 

NBA should be based on a point system, that'll teach 'em

Points for pretty much everything but defense, that'll teach us

 

Didn't read much but one explanation would be because 1 single player (In this case the draft, a team would hope for a star) can impact a team more in basketball than any other leagues you mentioned. Because there are only 12 guys on the roster.

 

This is an awesome thread.

The answer is a combination of one and two and I totally dismiss number five as of any relevance because that would definately occur in baseball.

No NFL or MLB team is ever built around one good player. That's why in the NFL, teams trade to draft lower because you'd rather get two quality players over one slightly more quality player. But an NBA team can change its fortune around with a high lottery pick and be set for the next 10 years. That is worth tanking! Think about it: They sell more tickets if they win more. They get a bigger fanbase and merchandise sales if they get a star. If they play and ended up drafting 10th or whatever, that means they're shooting themselves in the foot to lose more money the following year, essentially stuck with the same old team with one new similar kind of player.

But that being said...

...tanking is stupid in the NBA because of the lottery. If the crappiest team gets a 25% chance, what really matters? They're tanking the season so they can have a 1 in 4 chance to draft number one? Additionally, how often is the number one pick actually a good player? Picking first or tenth doesn't matter if almost every year some lower drafting team gets a gem. If no one sees the Ginobilis or the Josh Howards or even the Luther Heads of the world, why tank?

 

Well, from 1984 to 2003:

Olajuwon - HOF
Ewing - HOF
Daugherty - 20/10 before his knee problems
David Robinson - HOF
Danny Manning - 20 PPG before knee problems
Pervis Ellison - injury problems right off the bat, but did average 20/11 one season
Derrick Coleman - 20/10, but with attitude problems
Larry Johnson - solid low post scorer and rebounder
Shaq - HOF
Webber - Borderline HOF
Glenn Robinson - 20 ppg his first nine seasons
Joe Smith - decent scorer and rebounder, borderline bust
Iverson - HOF
Duncan - HOF
Olowokandi - bust
Brand - 20/10 so far
Kenyon Martin - key player in two finals teams
Kwame - We'll go ahead and call him a bust
Yao and Lebron - pretty much speak for themselves

I think the jury is still out on Howard, Bogut, and Bargnani, but as far as the first 20 go, there are 6 sure fire hall of famers, which is 30%. If you add Yao and Lebron, who are probably HOF worthy, barring injuries, that's 40%.The only two real busts are Kandi and Kwame, and possibly Joe Smith. The rest were pretty decent players. The point is that there is usually at least one can't miss guy in every draft, and there is almost always a hall of famer drafted in the top 5. I'd say that tanking is worth it.

Really, anything after the top five is a crapshoot with all the underclassmen in the draft these days.

 

Thanks for the link.

My co-worker's son just got accepted to Harvard Law School. He intends to go into sports law.

 

My latest solution to discourage tanking: Of the 14 non-playoff teams, they are assigned randomly to slots 1-14. Playoff teams are ranked according to record. The bottom 14 teams are all in need of some lottery love, so it won't be a case of adding Oden to the Mavs. Team solidly out of the playoff race would have no incentive to lose because their lottery position wouldn't change. And, playoff teams and hopefuls would still rather be in the playoffs than get the #1 pick.

 

well KG just called it quits for the season. this tanking thing has seriously gotten out of hand. stern really needs to do something to fix this. it is funny how all these star players have suddenly been shut down for the rest of the season with phantom injuries that 'have bothered them for the whole year', right after durant declared for the draft.

 

he was the 9th pick... so obviously people didnt expect a superstar out of him. But then again he came out of high school like McGrady so thats why he probably slipped. Ironically they both were #9 picks.

 

I think one factor left out is the conspiracy theory POV. There is not a conspiracy in the NBA to tank. This thought is a breakoff from #3, where a certain player has more impact with fewer people on court.

Basically, the owner/GM/coach doesn't sit down with all the players and say, "ok guys, were in tank mode, i want you to go out there and pretend to lose". Now since there are fewer players on the court, the coach has a whole lot more control over the outcome of the team. He can simply bench a superstar for any reason. He can put a bad lineup out there and crash the team night in and night out with ease.

You simply can not do that with the NFL and MLB. Players create their own destiny more so than in the NBA. The harder the team works and the more passionate, the more likey they will succeed, regardless if the coach is trying to run it in the ground.