Between load management and obvious tanking, the league is alienating viewers.
The National Basketball Association hasn’t exactly been on a winning streak of late.
Rules were changed to allow for “gathering,” an absurd shift made to extend the traveling violation. Then there’s the “load management” phenomenon, where players now just…sit out for games to rest.
Then there’s the league’s new television deals negotiated by commissioner Adam Silver. The new arrangements led to a massive payday for the NBA, despite ratings generally declining for key events, but also made games harder for fans to find. And of course, there’s one of the bigger issues that even a lottery system hasn’t been able to fix: tanking.
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The league has tried to deemphasize tanking, with several changes coming for the 2026-2027 season that are meant to finally combat one of the sport’s longest-running issues. But boy oh boy, with those rules not in effect for 2025-2026, the bottom teams across the league aren’t even trying. Seriously.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – JUNE 02: NBA commissioner Adam Silver speaks to the media prior to Game One of the 2022 NBA Finals between the Golden State Warriors and the Boston Celtics at Chase Center on June 02, 2022 in San Francisco, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)
NBA Bottom Teams Have Remarkable Current Losing Streak
Writer Tom Haberstroh pointed out on X on Wednesday morning that the bottom 10 teams in the NBA are on a truly remarkable losing streak. Remarkable in a way that defies logic and comprehension.
As he noticed, those 10 teams have lost an astonishing 40 games in a row collectively.
That is how tanking works. And that is part of why the NBA has gotten so much criticism in the modern era. Games feel repetitive, with an endless barrage of 3-point shots, obvious traveling, stars sitting out periodically, and teams openly tanking. The regular season feels meaningless, playoffs take forever, the NBA Cup has been generally unsuccessful, and the dunk contest went from must-see TV to one of the most made-fun of events on the social media calendar.
Oh, and of course, the league has made it clear that it prioritizes left-wing politics and has little interest in attracting or bringing back right-wing viewers.
When the product has suffered as it has, excluded fans the way it has, and then the final two months of the season are filled with bad teams not even attempting to win, what’s the point of following the sport? That’s a question increasing numbers of fans no longer have an answer to.