Phoenix Suns owner Mat Ishbia made his feelings clear Thursday on the tanking going on around the NBA.
Ishbia reposted a Yahoo Sports story written about the league commissioner Adam Silver’s recent comments on tanking this season, calling it “ridiculous.”
“Tanking is losing behavior done by losers,” Ishbia wrote on X. “Purposely losing is something nobody should want to be associated with. Embarrassing for the league and for the organizations.”
His strong words were responding to a pair of fines the NBA handed out to the Utah Jazz and Indiana Pacers last week for limiting star players’ minutes or holding them out of games entirely.
How has tanking affected the NBA?
The Jazz were fined $50,000 for “conduct detrimental to the league” when they removed Lauri Markkanen and Jaren Jackson Jr. from games against the Orlando Magic and Miami Heat before the fourth quarter, even though they could have returned.
The Pacers were fined $100,000 for not playing or reducing the minutes of Pascal Siakam and two other starters, which violated the NBA’s “player participation policy.”
“Overt behavior like this that prioritizes draft position over winning undermines the foundation of NBA competition and we will respond accordingly to any further actions that compromise the integrity of our games,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “Additionally, we are working with our Competition Committee and Board of Governors to implement further measures to root out this type of conduct.”
The Pacers and Jazz have two of the six worst records in the NBA and are in contention for a top-four pick in the 2026 NBA draft.
Ishbia said it makes sense for a bad team to get a good pick but it’s not right for teams to intentionally shut down players and lose games.
“This is much worse than any prop bet scandal. This is throwing games strategically,” Ishbia continued. “Horrible for fans that pay to watch and cheer on their team. And horrible for all the real teams that are competing for playoff spots.”
Ishbia added that he’s confident Silver will do what’s needed to stop the tanking in the league.
“Those of us in a position of influence need to speak out… the only ‘strategy’ is doing right by fans, players and the NBA community,” Ishbia wrote.
