NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has voiced concerns over the league's increasing instances of 'tanking,' even fining teams for sitting healthy players. However, Dallas Mavericks minority owner Mark Cuban argues the league should embrace this strategy. Cuban believes the NBA is misguided in thinking fans only want to see teams compete nightly. Instead, he asserts that fans value the experience and, crucially, the hope for future improvement, which tanking facilitates through the draft, trades, and cap space.
Cuban, who has admitted to tanking in the past, posted on X that the league should focus on fan experience and affordability rather than penalizing teams for strategic performance. He suggests that pricing fans out of games and the quality of the game presentation are greater issues than tanking.
Silver, speaking at NBA All-Star Weekend, questioned whether teams intentionally performing poorly to gain better draft picks are truly the 'worst-performing' teams. He indicated the league is considering a fresh look at its draft lottery system, acknowledging it's an 'antiquated way of going about doing it' after 80 years.
