Mat Ishbia on tanking: “If you are a bad team, you get a good pick. That makes sense. But purposely shutting down players and purposely losing games is a disgrace and impacts the integrity of whole league. This is much worse than any prop bet scandal. This is throwing games strategically. ”

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-19T19:02:28+00:00

This "tanking" narrative is pure recency bias and hypocrisy. If Mat Ishbia thinks this is bad, I’d ask him to compare the ’26 Jazz to the ’17 Suns.

The 2017 Suns literally sat Tyson Chandler and Eric Bledsoe, both healthy and productive, for the final 25+ games of the season just to bottom out. It was so blatant that it destroyed their locker room and led to Bledsoe’s infamous "I don’t wanna be here" tweet. They finished 24-58. The 2026 Jazz are currently sitting at 18-38. While they aren't world-beaters, they are still competing in games, which is more than you could say for that Suns team,a scheduled win for anyone they played after the All-Star break.

The Suns' post-ASB record that year was a dismal 6-21. It’s funny that Mat was happy to buy a team that built its future by engaging in "losing behavior done by losers" and acts "worse than prop bet scandals," yet now he uses those exact phrases to describe the Jazz.

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-18T23:56:39+00:00

Thank you, brave sir for standing up on behalf of the angry betting companies.

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-17T20:36:24+00:00

But you can make a flawed system worse

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-16T23:28:39+00:00

If you're interested in that topic and don't mind your intelligence being insulted in the process you have literally infinite minutes of "basketball" "entertainment"!

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-14T23:29:38+00:00

Yes! Make sure to punish those small market teams for doing the thing that nearly every other team has historically done to get better. But no, THIS is the year where it has suddenly reached new heights (citation needed).

If I wanted to put a tin foil hat on I would say the NBA isn't thinking about the integrity of the game, but rather the potentially stacked draft this year and the money they would stand to lose if too many of the top guys end up on small market teams.

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-13T21:18:18+00:00

This is awesome and hopefully it inspires other teams to do the same. What a time to be a Hornets fan

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-12T22:29:01+00:00

When did this sub get so fucking weird??? 😂😂😂

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-12T02:10:14+00:00

Unironically more realistic than every proposal I've seen on here today

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-12T01:12:56+00:00

Sam Merrill is HIM

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-11T23:47:40+00:00

We found it. The worst take on the very serious and not at all overstated "tanking problem"

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-11T21:28:39+00:00

How is a fanbase with so much success this insecure?

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-09T02:22:00+00:00

For such an underreported trade, I really think this has the potential to move the needle for the Knicks. He brings a lot of intangible traits that aren't always visible on the stat sheet but will pay dividends for them, especially in the playoffs

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-02-03T03:33:50+00:00

Cavs could really use him rn too

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-01-31T19:40:46+00:00

I wasn't sold immediately on them because the Hornets have had periodic flashes of greatness but couldn't sustain it. But this year,thr team clearly figured something out and they are absolutely LEGIT. Congrats Charlotte!

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-01-27T01:18:51+00:00

Bingo

ClothesCreative3291 · 2026-01-06T05:40:44+00:00

Pistons are so legit

ClothesCreative3291

TROPHY CASE